Hong Kong Eastern defeats Phoenix in PBA debut
Hong Kong Eastern started their Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 49 Commissioner's Cup campaign with a victory against the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 102-87, on Wednesday, November 27, at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
HK Eastern already showed poise from the start of the game until the very end to secure the victory in their first ever game in the first play-for-pay league in Asia.
At the half, the guest team just had a slim 49-45 lead but their hot shooting extended their lead to 77-65 at the end of the third quarter.
The Fuel Masters tried to trim down the lead but they couldn't get over the three-point barrier as the HK Eastern always had an answer to their run.
Eastern import Cameron Clark, who played for San Miguel and NLEX before, led the Hong Kong team with 25 points, 11 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.
Former Bay Area Dragons player Hayden Blankley put up 18 markers, eight rebounds, five assists, and three blocks to be named as the Player of the Game.
"We are happy to join the PBA. Actually, we are not the same [because] I saw some comments that we are like Bay Area 2.0. We are not. We are a really pure Hong Kong team with some additional power," according to Eastern coach Mensur Bajramovic.
"For us, it means a lot but of course, we need to adjust because this is our first experience here,” Bajramovic added.
Another former Dragons Glen Yang and Kobey Lam also contributed significant numbers in their win. Yang tallied 13 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and two steals, while Lam added eight markers, three boards, and three dimes.
Meanwhile, Phoenix only shot 2-of-13 from the three-point arc and also committed more turnovers (23) than assists (17).
Fuel Masters import Donovan Smith led the team with 33 points, 11 rebounds, and two steals in a losing effort, while Jason Perkins who had a lot of physical encounters with Clark added 22 markers, five boards, four assists, and two steals.
The Scores:
Eastern 102 – Clark 25, Blankley 18, Yang 13, Cheung 11, Lam 8, Cao 8, Xu 8, Guinchard 5, Leung 3, Chan 3, Sulaiman 0, Pok 0.
Phoenix 87 – Smith 33, Perkins 22, Rivero 10, Alejandro 8, Tuffin 4, Garcia 3, Ballungay 2, Manganti 2, Tio 2, Jazul 1, Camacho 0, Daves 0, Ular 0, Muyang 0, Verano 0.
Quarter Scores: 23-14, 49-45, 77-65, 102-87.
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In this Player Profile Series, we look back at the career of Benjie Paras—“The Tower of Power”—the only player in PBA history to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season.
Paras was drafted by the Shell Turbo Chargers in 1989 and made an immediate impact. With his strength, mobility, and basketball IQ, he brought a complete inside presence—shot-blocking, rebounding, mid-range shooting, and post scoring. Shell didn’t win a title that year, but Paras’ dominant rookie season stood out above the rest.
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