THE IECO Green Warriors suffered a heartbreaking 107-103 collapse to the Xinjiang Flying Tigers to bow out of the Asia League Terrific 12 2018 Thursday at Studio City Events Center in Macau.
The Philippine team showed a lot of heart and crawled back from a lead as many as 15 points, chipping away a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter, 93-84 to take a 99-95 edge with four minutes and 26 seconds remaining as a pair of Gab Banal freebies capped off a 15-2 run.
However, the powerhouse Chinese ballclub was just too much, with Darius Adams and Abudushalamu Abudurexiti conspiring in Xinjiang's 12-4 finishing kick to boot winless IECO out of the invitational tournament.
Replacement import Tiras Wade, who came in for injured big man Richard Howell, carried the Green Warriors with 24 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a block, while Sam Logwood added 21 and nine.
Joshua Munzon was a huge boost in IECO's uprising late, racking 16 points and two rebounds, as Banal also had 16, two dimes, and a board.
The Ariel Vanguardia-mentored Green Warriors failed to make it past the group stages after going 0-2 in their assignments.
Adams dropped 45 huge points, to go with eight rebounds and eight assists for the Flying Tigers.
Abudurexiti registered a double-double of 19 points and 11 boards for Xinjiang, while Wang Zirui had 14.
The scores:
XINJIANG 107 – Adams 45, Abudurexiti 19, Wang 14, Chou 9, Makam 9, Fan 6, Liu 4, Zeng 1, Jiang 0.
IECO 103 – Wade 24, Logwood 21, Banal 16, Munzon 16, Scharer 8, Salem 8, Cruz 6, Sena 2, Reyes 2, Dennison 0, Porter 0, Toth 0.
Quarters: 27-27, 61-54, 87-78, 107-103.
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