Flex-link Enterprise break Chainblock's hold

FLEX-Link Enterprise escaped with a 59-54 victory over LSL Chainblock in Group B of the Goh Hock Kee (GHK) Trophy Men's Basketball Tournament last night at the Tutong Chung Hwa Middle School Basketball court in Tutong.

Three players hit double figures for Flex-Link, Tan Ye Wei leading the way with 15 points.

Justin Yong had 11 points and Lee Huat Beng chipped in 10 in the victory.

Kim Teck Cheng produced a game-high of 16 points to pace Chainblock while Hii Wei scored 11 in the loss.

According to Flex-Link forward Tan, the match was evenly contested in the opening period.

Both teams were playing at a slow pace and it was Chainblock who led 17-16 going into the second quarter.

It was turnovers galore for Chainblock in the second period due to their poor passing as they tried to feed the ball into the low post. They also struggled to find the bottom of the net, allowing Flex-Link to score on the break and open up a 31-23 lead at halftime.

Chainblock continued to pound the ball down low and this time they were getting the calls that they wanted.

Plenty of fouls were called but they failed to capitalise from the charity stripe. It killed the momentum for Flex-Link but their cushion was not threatened as they maintained a 52-42 advantage into the final period.

The game was still within striking distance for Chainblock. Kim was doing the damage on offence with eight points to his name in the last 10-minute frame.

However, missed freethrows killed off their chances as Flex-Link held on for the win.

"I thought the game was alright for us and our opponents could have made it close or even tied the game had they made their freethrows," said Tan in an interview with The Brunei Times after the triumph.

"We still have plenty of work to do as we need to improve on our communication on defence and our ball passing," he said.

In the earlier match, TEPB OPP opened their account in the competition with a 62-54 victory over Comtech in Group A.

The competition continues today with defending champions Chevrolet Spark chasing their second win against NVP in Group A at 6.45pm.

The second game is between favourites CS Cold Storage and Alex Kong Motors in Group B at 8.15pm.The Brunei Times