THE Chiba Jets outgunned the New Taipei Kings down the stretch to win 92-84 in the East Asia Super League (EASL) semifinals last Friday at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City.
The win sent the unbeaten Jets to the finals, where they will face the Seoul SK Knights. The Seoul SK Knights defeated the Anyang Jung Kwan Jang Red Boosters in the other semifinals, 94-79.
Japanese national team skipper Yuki Togashi wowed Cebuano fans, scoring 28 points and dishing out five assists. The 5-foot-6 guard helped rescue the Jets from the jaws of defeat, draining a triple to tie the game up at 82-all with 3:18 to go. The Kings had a couple of chances to regain the lead but missed, and Shuta Hara made them pay, swishing a three-pointer to put the Jets in front, 85-82.
A minute later, Togashi added a layup to give Chiba a five-point lead, 87-82, time down to 1:21. New Taipei pulled closer after an Austin Daye basket but Chiba’s John Mooney answered with a deuce of his own and added three free throws down the stretch to secure the Jets’ win.
Xavier Cooks helped Chiba with 24 points, 22 boards, and six blocked shots, while Mooney added 22 markers and 12 boards.
Joseph Lin, the brother of former NBA star and New Taipei’s ace guard Jeremy Lin, stepped up and scored 21 points for the Kings. The Kings will now play for third place against Anyang on Sunday.
The third-place game will be at 4 p.m., while the championship game will tip off at 7 p.m. (JNP)