MANILA, Philippines–Hong Kong unveiled a new import on Tuesday and found success, turning back Blackwater, 84-75, in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Canadian Chris McLaughlin fired 32 points and 23 rebounds, leading the charge for Eastern, who had to deal with the absence of the injured Cameron Clark.
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Glen Yang was solid once again for the visitors, chipping in 14 points and seven rebounds while Kobey Lam added 10 and 11 to help the guest club rise to a 4-1 win-loss mark in the showcase and prime themselves well against a fancied showdown with Barangay Ginebra.
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Blackwater drew 41 points and 12 rebounds from import George King, but he was the lone player to finish in double digits.
Sedrick Barefield and Rey Suerte added a measly nine points each in the losing stand that stretched the Bossing’s slide to three games.
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Blackwater plays undefeated Meralco this Thursday.
The Scores:
EASTERN 84 – McLaughlin 32, Yang 14, Lam 10, Guinchard 8, Xu 7, Cheung 5, Cao 4, Blankley 2, Pok 2, Chan 0, Zhu 0
BLACKWATER 75 – King 41, Barefield 9, Suerte 9, Chua 4, Kwekuteye 4, David 4, Ilagan 3, Ponferrada 1, Casio 0, Hill 0, Guinto 0, Escoto 0
Quarterscores: 23-21, 39-49, 66-58, 84-75