Anthony Johnson leading the attack and sound rebounder to help Sarawak Fire Horse pipe West Point Dragons to avenge a painful one-point defeat in their last encounter in the Malaysian National Basketball League.
MIRI: Home team and defending champion Sarawak Fire Horse trailed for most part of the game against former champion Westpoint Malaysia Dragons in the much awaited encounter in the Miri circuit before pulling in front by a snout to win 73:66 in a late spurt.
The home team was spluttering before the big crowd at Miri Indoor Stadium in the first quarter as the visitor flew to a nine point lead at end of first quarter which ended 15:24, and a similar story by the second quarter which ended 35:42.
The crowd grew restless as the defending champion continue to trail the sharper Dragons which dominated the perimeter three point shooting as well as basket drives in move orchestrated by playmaker Julius Pasculado.
Sarawak was heavily dependent on imports Anthony Joseph and Devon Sullivan in both offense and defense as they carried the team within touching distant in the fight back in the third quarter as the memory of previous loss to their opponent by a single point 71-72 was a painful memory by the sharp-shooting Dragons at MABA stadium.
The defeat was a wake-up call for the defending champion who were trailing 27 points at half time in the last encounter, and fighting back only to throw away a three point lead in the dying seconds.
Sarawak team in defending the basket drive by a Dragon player with Devon Sullivan attempting to block a shot.
Prolific American import Johnson and Sullivan again led the way but the local boys stepped up, with Miri boy Ma Chee Kiong tipping the balance in the last quarter in their Miri fight back after trailing 50:57 by the end of the third quarter.
Fire Horse move a gear up as they reeled off six points when they returned to court to and Ma piercing basketball drive with a lay-up finally enable Sarawak to pull level for the first time while Ma reeled off another two three-pointers in a row from the ace to pull ahead 63:57 to lead for the first time.
The Dragon replied and Sarawak kept piling on the pressure to bring the score to 71:66 by drawing a foul by Chai Tze Hian with 31 seconds remaining on the clocks, with Thompson and Sulivans already celebrating at the sidelines with the players and officials.
Final score was 73:66 as they emerged top on the table for the semi-finals to avoid another encounter with Dragons in the final circuit in KL.
In another match Farmcochem defeated Crouching Tigers 85:70 in a lop-sided match and the later, the Youth national team, has lost all it’s matches.
Meanwhile, Sarawak Fire Horse face Farmcochem while Penang Stallion Resorts takes on Crouching Tiger on Satruday night . It will take on Tigers on Sunday night while Farmco takes on Stallions on Sunday night to complete the fixtures.
The first circuit was held in Kuala Lumpur from Oct 25-28, followed by Pulau Pinang from Nov 2-4 while Miri will host the third circuit from Nov 9-11, with the grand final in Kuala Lumpur from Nov 17-18.