| Fadhil Yunus |
TSL advanced to the semi-finals of the Low San Brunei Open 2018 after easing to a comfortable 109-81 victory against Jedstar at the Brunei Basketball Association Court in Batu Bersurat last night.
The Group ‘A’ winners in the Men’s Tool Box Open extended their unbeaten start to 6-0 as they moved a step closer towards a place in the December 12 final.
The overwhelming favourites had long wrapped up the game when Fredrich Bernabe’s shot brushed the outside of the net though Fitz R Macasero was on hand to complete the scoring.
Sunday Megallon scored a game-high of 27 points while Cesar Asaldo also contributed with 16 points for the winning team.
Jedstar were simply chasing for points and Jamille Abdullah showed energy with his fine movement which earned him free throws.
But the gulf in class eventually told as TSL performed without necessarily hitting top gear. With Cesar Asoldo gaining control of the ball, the captain looked for options before sinking a three-pointer to help his team within a point of the century mark.
Abdullah’s individual performance was a rare bright spot as he drove forward to perform a lay-up which matched his run-up to the couple of points he bestowed to his team.
Having enjoyed an insurmountable lead, it was understandable that there was a clear absence in a sense of urgency but there was a collection of eye-catching passes on display at the court.
Ronnie Larrobis finished the job after he received a wonderful assist by Arnuito Deiparine before Gabriel Co made sure the trouble his teammate gone through to escape a tight defence was rewarded with a successful conversion.
The Jedstar defence was outnumbered after TSL launched an attack as Gabriel routinely made another two-pointer.
In the final few seconds of the first semi-final, TSL’s Ricardo Eliseo took on the defence without much resistance and made the two-pointer.