With a new import on board, guest team Hong Kong Eastern addressed their first-half woes with precise adjustments in the second half against the Blackwater Bossing.
It was a tale of two halves for Eastern.
But the good thing is, the guest team from Hong Kong got their act together just in time, especially in the second half, to chalk up back-to-back wins and their fourth overall in the last five games.
“I think we deserve to win this game,” head coach Mensur Bajramovic spoke in the aftermath of his team’s gutsy comeback against the Blackwater Bossing.
A sloppy offense combined with an underwhelming defense put Eastern in a 49-39 halftime hole.
They allowed Blackwater import George King to drop 29 points and the Bossing to get into the foul line 19 times in the first two quarters and made 14.
“In the first half, even our defense wasn’t at the best level. We missed a lot of shots and didn’t play as a team,” Bajramovic insisted.
But a 27-9 third quarter that featured a decisive 25-7 run turned the tides in favor of the Eastern, who led by as many as 16 points.
In the end, they outrebounded Blackwater, 60-41, and pounded them inside with a huge 58-22 paint-point average.
[ALSO READ: PBA: Eastern rallies past Blackwater for back-to-back wins in Commissioner’s Cup]
“In the second half, we fixed it. We started to move the ball well, made some shots and took control of the game,” the Bosnian tactician bared.
Bajramovic also praised their new import in Chris McLaughlin, who was hailed as the Player of the Game behind his 32-point, 23-rebound outing.
[ALSO READ: No Laughing Matter: Chris McLaughlin wreaks havoc in strong PBA debut for Eastern vs. Blackwater]