The Black Bears of Macau tightened their defensive screws in the second half to turn back host team Passi Titans, 89-75, in The Asian Tournament at the City of Passi Arena in Iloilo.
Unfazed by the hometown cheering crowd supporting their rivals, the Black Bears came out all locked in the final 20 minutes of play.
After trailing by as much as 17 points, 39-22, the Black Bears slowly but surely clawed their way back into the game.
By the start of the third, the Black Bears came up with big defensive adjustments, slowing down the Titans. It even resulted to Macau forcing numerous turnovers on the home squad and that allowed the visitors to score 24 turnover points, nine more than their rivals.
The Titans found no answer in stopping Seny Pathe Ndyiaye, Jenning Leung and Brandon Matano as the Black Bears’ deadly triumvirate did most of the damage against Passi defenders.
Ndyiaye had a solid double-double game of 21 points and 15 boards.
Offensively, Leung was even more dangerous as he knocked down six three-point shots on his way to tallying 25 markers, while Matano contributed 17 markers, including five from down town.
But defense proved to be the deciding factor in the Black Bears’ victory as they held the Titans to only eight points in the fourth period as Passi absorbed its first loss in three starts.
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