Cameron Clark was not going to miss Hong Kong Eastern's third matchup vs his former team, the San Miguel Beermen.
Third time was the charm for import Cameron Clark.
After missing out on Hong Kong Eastern’s first two matchups against the San Miguel Beermen, Clark finally had his chance to go at it against his former team—and he did not disappoint.
The 33-year-old forward had an efficient night with 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field to go along with eight rebounds and six assists, leading Eastern past the Beermen, 84-74, on Wednesday, January at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
“I definitely had this on my mind for a while. Not playing the first two games, it really killed me but I feel like we got our revenge. It was a great team win,” Clark said during the post-game press conference.
“It was a pleasure playing against those guys. Great teammates, great organization, but we had to get the dub,” he added.
Clark suited up for the Beermen during the PBA Season 47 Governors’ Cup as well as the 2023 EASL Champions Week, where SMB went 0-2.
Finally having the chance to compete against his former teammates, Clark, who sat out Eastern's PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup campaign due hip flexor strain, made sure to make his matchup against Mo Tautuaa a little bit special.
“Those are my guys. That's kind of like family but Mo, I had to talk shit to him a little bit but it's all love. It's just going out there and competing. We did our job to survive and get the win,” said Clark.
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Aside from Clark, Chris McLaughlin had an outstanding outing for Eastern with 15 points and 18 rebounds. Hayden Blankley and Glen Yang added 11 apiece in the win.
June Mar Fajardo and Don Trollano led the Beermen with 20 points each in the loss which kept SMB winless in the EASL.
Eastern will look to secure its spot in the semifinals when it faces the Taoyuan Pauian Pilots on February 5.
San Miguel, meanwhile, will seek its first win in the tournament in its final game against the Suwon KT Sonicboom on February 12.