KUALA LUMPUR: The KL Dragons have sent out a huge statement — they are not here to be the whipping boys of the Asean Basketball League (ABL).
Having missed the ABL playoffs for three consecutive seasons, the Dragons started the season with a bang by pulling off a sensational 91-90 win over highly-rated Taipei Fubon Braves at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium on Sunday.
The victory sent shock waves as the ABL debutants Braves are the Taiwan Super Basketball League (SBL) champions.
Among their top players are ex-NBA star OJ Mayo, the 2.26m Sim Bhullar and Taiwanese national team veteran Lin Chih Chieh.
The Dragons started on the front foot as they surged into a 9-5 lead before the Braves came alive to lead 27-20 in the first quarter.
The Braves then extended their lead by 11 points early in the second quarter.
The Dragons, however, slowly rallied around imports Will Artino and Cade Davis and local youngster Tem Zhen Jie as the Malaysian team trailed just 48-49 at halftime.
The third quarter was a completely different story as efficient shooting by the Dragons saw them overturn the scores to lead 75-68.
It got nervy in the fourth quarter as the Braves tried to force their way to earn something from the game.
Davis however had the last laugh as he tipped in a putback from Amir Bell’s effort to hand the Dragons a 91-87 lead with four seconds left on the clock.
There was enough time for Charles Garcia to fire away a three-pointer for the Braves to bring the scoreline to 91-90 but the Dragons were always going to hold on for a famous win.
Artino finished with a monster effort of 25 points and 20 rebounds for the Dragons while Davis had 23 points including five three-pointers and Bell had 21 points while dishing out nine assists.
For the Braves, Mayo led the scoring with 23 points, followed by Garcia with 16 points and Bhullar on 16 off the bench.
It is worth pointing out that the Dragons were collectively better as a team, as they outrebounded the Braves (42-36) and dished out more assists (22-15) as well.
It is a much-needed win for the Dragons as they will not have the services of Sea Games-bound players for a month.
In Sunday’s other game, Thailand’s Mono Vampire Basketball Club also started on a high with a blowout 111-76 win over the Alab Pilipinas in Bangkok.