ABL 2019-20: Post-Game Analysis – Formosa Dreamers VS Kuala Lumpur Dragons

ABL10: ?Formosa Dreamers 85 – 79 Kuala Lumpur Dragons?

It wasn’t our day in Changhua County, as we fell to our third defeat in a row, losing to the Formosa Dreamers 79-85. 

The well rested Dreamers, playing their first game in two weeks, started the game on a 9-2 run.

Despite Cade Davis sitting out most of the first quarter with foul trouble, we were able to cut the deficit to only four by the end of the first quarter led by Simeon Lepichev’s five points.

We endured a tough start the second quarter as we went without a point in the first 3 minutes before Will Artino ended the drought. The basket ignited our run as ‘Mei Mei’ Ting Chun Hong went on to score five straight points to give us the lead for the first time midway through the second quarter. 

We were able to increase our lead to five thanks to a Cade Davis three pointer before Jerran Young and Anthony Tucker combined jumpers to cut our lead to one going into the half time break. 

It was a close third quarter as both our teams traded leads for most of the quarter. The Dreamers were able to push the lead to five with three minutes remaining thanks to a Yang Chin Min three pointer but back to -back three pointers from Will Artino and Cade Davis helped us reclaim the lead. Unfortunately for us, it was the Dreamers who had the last laugh in the third quarter, as Jerran Young’s inspired play gave the Dreamers a 56-53 lead going into the final quarter.

The Dreamers started the fourth quarter hot, as their key local, Jet Chang scored seven points to push the Dreamer’s lead to as high as eight points.

We responded to Chang’s run with a 11-2 run of our own to reclaim the lead and forced the Dreamers to call a timeout. Off the timeout, the Dreamers were able to tie the game before Anthony Tucker made his only three pointer of the game to regain the Dreamer’s lead. 

That proved to be the turnaround point for the game as the Dreamers were able to push the lead to as high as seven with two minutes remaining. Despite Ting Chun Hong’s and Simeon Lepichev’s late baskets to cut the lead to four, it was too late, as the Dreamers held on for the 85-79 victory.

Our record now stands at 4-5.

Our best performer was Will Artino with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks. Cade Davis chipped in 18 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists while Simeon Lepichev finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds and 3 assists in only 24 minutes of play.

After the game, Head Coach Jamie Pearlman said, “The team played great basketball for long stretches today but we failed to execute down the stretch. Mei Mei and Cheng Wah did a really good job defending Tucker during the game. I am very positive about what this group can achieve this year and we are looking forward to playing back in Kuala Lumpur in front of our home fans”.

We will attempt to break our losing run against the 2017/2018 champions San Miguel Alab Pilipinas on the 4th of February 2020 8.00 PM at MABA Stadium and call on the all Dragonnites to get behind the team with a packed out stadium.

The Filipino team are standing firm in third with a 7-4 record and most recently scored an impressive 100-92 overtime road win over the league leaders Mono Vampire.

Alab boast a talented line up including our former point guard Jason Brickman who was a part of our 2015/2016 championship team. Brickman is currently leading the league in assists with 9.3 APG. 

The 7 ft 5 Maltese giant Samuel Deguara and former NBA G League players Nick King and Prince Williams have formed a formidable import line up. Backing them up are Alab’s key locals, Lawrence Domingo, Jordan Heading, Jeremiah Gray and Brandon Rosser who have all been instrumental to their strong start to the season. 

Tickets are now available at https://ticket.tickethotline.com.my/ and can also be purchased at MABA Stadium on game day, subject to availability.

Fans can also catch the game on ASEAN Basketball League’s social media pages and Astro Arena.