De Luna steers Wasalak comeback BASKETBALL

WASALAK came from behind to defeat Linktech 86-78 in Group B of the first season of the FAB-DALY'S Inter-Colour Basketball League 2012 last night at the Brunei Basketball Association court in Batu Bersurat.

Four players hit double figures for Wasalak with Carlo de Luna leading the way with game-high of 27 points including four treys. The duo of Ivan Gamarcha and Anthony Cenzon each added 11 points while Hernandez chipped in 10 in the victory.

On the other hand, Aldrex Candari was topscorer for Linktech with 18 points while Jomer Conol and Romel Macaspac had 12 and 10 points respectively to a losing cause.

Linktech were the better team in the early going as they were the more aggressive team. They were attacking the basket with ease with no strong defensive presence from their opponents to open up a 22-13 lead going into the second quarter.

Wasalak would pick up the slack in the second quarter and were doing a better job in passing the ball inside. They made no mistake with high percentage points in the paint which allowed them to close the deficit but it was Linktech who carried a 41-35 lead into halftime.

They got the cushion up to eight points after three minutes after the break at 51-43 before things went wrong for them.

De Luna sparked a 14-0 run for Wasalak with 11 straight points and they took over at 57-51 midway through the quarter. Turnovers were not helping Linktech and it gifted their opponents easy points on the break. The game remained close and Melvin Taneo hit a controversial three-pointer, as the ball was out of bounds, just before the buzzer to put Linktech tied at 64-64 going into the final stanza.

It was a neck and neck battle in the last 10-minute frame. Neither team could be separate by a single field goal with the scoreboard reading 75-74 in favour of Wasalak midway through the fourth period.

With Wasalak up by three points with just a minute left, a good move by Pilip Mabaza under the basket pushed their lead to 81-76. Linktech threw it away in the next possession and they had to start fouling to stop the clock.

Wasalak gave them the opportunity to comeback but they were not capitalising by throwing the ball away for three straight possessions that allowed the former to claim the victory.

A total of 14 teams separated into two groups are vying for top honours in the competition.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals which are scheduled for Sept 13 with the final to take place two days after.

The competition continues tomorrow with Bullsdogs going up against SBC Stars in Group A at 8pm. The second match pits Challenger against Igniter in Group B at 9.30pm.The Brunei Times