TO Hong Kong Eastern belongs the early solo lead in the PBA Commissioner's Cup elims.
Cameron Clark went firing coming off the bench entering the final four-minute mark and the HK club foiled Converge's hot chase, scoring a second straight win with a 117-106 disposal of the FiberXers Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Clark fired back-to-back baskets in his return from a breather and Eastern made a run from a 101-98 edge en route to a follow-up to their 102-87 opening romp over Phoenix.
The FiberXers dropped to 1-1 despite a 43-point job from Cheick Diallo.
Clark was on target with 39 points plus 15 rebounds and two blocks complemented by 21 points from Hayden Blankley, 13 from Jordan Heading and 12 from Schonny Winston.
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But it wasn't a smooth sailing for the Eastern which barely took the first quarter at 21-20 and the half at 58-55.
From a three-point lead at the turn, Clark and his teammates opened a comfortable gap on a third-quarter salvo presided over by Heading with 13 points in the third period.
But the FiberXers were quick with their counterattack, chipping away and rallying to within three at 91-101 with Clark resting on the Eastern bench.
Upon his return, Clark scored seven in a 9-4 attack as Eastern restored control before eventually nailing a second "W."
It was a good win for Clark and his teammates ahead of tough back-to-back assignments versus Rain or Shine Wednesday then TNT on Friday.
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Clark piled up 22 points with nine rebounds while Blankley added 12 as the guest team set the pace in the first half, carrying a 58-55 advantage into the final half.(SB)
The Scores :
EASTERN 117 - Clark 39, Blankley 21, Yang 19, Guinchard 14, Lam 11, Cheung 4, Cao 3, Chan 2, Pok 2, Xu
CONVERGE 106 - Diallo 43, Stockton 18, Heading 13, Winston 12, Arana 10, Racal 5, Nieto 5, Delos Santos 0, Santos 0, Javillonar 0
QUARTERS : 21-20, 58-55, 91-83, 117-106
