Rhenz Abando. Photo from Anyang KGC
OKINAWA — Anyang KGC pulled out all the stops late to keep Seoul SK Knights at bay, 90-84, to take the East Asia Super League (EASL) Champions Week crown.
Omari Spellman hit a huge triple inside the final 36 seconds to give Anyang some breathing room which eventually proved to be the cushion it needed to hold off the Knights, reigning champion of the Korean Basketball League.
Spellman finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds to go with fellow import Darryl Monroe’s 21 and 16, both team-bests.
Ace gunner Byeon Jun-hyeong chipped in 16 points as Filipino reinforcement Rhenz Abando and Park Ji-hoon finished with 11 each.
Abando added two rebounds and two assists to his name.
The victory nets Anyang a whopping USD 250,000 (about P14 million) cash prize and a gold medal to show for being the finest pro club in the region.
Kim Sun-hyung had 25 points for Seoul, while import Darryl Monreo pumped in 22 more. Leon Williams tossed in 17 while Heo Il-young 12 for the Korean No. 1 who settled for USD100,000. (around P5.5 million).
In the earlier match, Bay Area Dragons beat host Ryukyu, 90-70, for a third-place finish in the five-day showpiece that featured the top clubs from across the Philippines, Korea and Japan and Chinese-Taipei.
San Miguel Beer and TNT, the two bets from the Philippines, bowed out of contention early without a single victory.