NO jitters, no chills.
Hardly intimated playing on foreign ground, Hong Kong Eastern marked its PBA Commissioner's Cup debut with a dominant 102-87 win over Phoenix Super LPG Wednesday night at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
PBA veteran Cameron Clark served as a solid anchor with his HK local teammates dishing out their own stuff as they mirrored the Bay Area Dragons' triumphant start as a guest team in the same tourney back in 2022.
Coach Mensur Bajramovic's troops jumped out of the starting block in the third quarter and sustained the pace through the fourth in their 15-point blowout of the Phoenix squad hoping to rebound from a poor 1-9 showing in the last PBA tourney.
With import Donovan Smith and Jayson Perkins leading their stand, the Fuel Masters were there in the fight in the first half but then faded away as Eastern made a big run in the second half.
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Previous PBA experience by Clark, Hayden Blankley, Kobey Lam and Glen Yang obviously served Eastern well in making a good first impression.
Blankley scored 10 of his 18 points to lead their third-quarter breakaway as Clark poured 19 of his 25 in the first half while Yang added 13.
Yin Lung Cheung was a fourth Eastern player to finish in double figures with 11.
A fixture in the old Bay Area team, Blankley also collected eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
Smith led all scorers with 33 points as Perkins added 22 to no avail. The two poured in 18 each in the first half.
The Eastern squad hit the ground running, posting an early double-digit spread at 27-14, but then the Fuel Masters hit their stride and came to within four, 45-49, at the turn.
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The scores
Eastern 102 - Clark 25, Blankley 18, Yang 13, Cheung 11, Lam 8, Cao 8, Xu 8, Guinchard 5, Leung 3, Chan 3, Sulaiman 0, Pok 0.
Phoenix 87 - Smith 33, Perkins 22, Rivero 10, Alejandro 8, Tuffin 4, Garcia 3, Ballungay 2, Manganti 2, Tio 2, Jazul 1, Camacho 0, Daves 0, Ular 0, Muyang 0, Verano 0.
Quarterscores: 23-14, 49-45, 77-65, 102-87
