The Formosa Dreamers picked up their second straight win, via a 122-116 win over the Macau Black Bears in the University of Macau Sports Complex.
In a high scoring affair that saw both teams shooting over 50% from the field in the entire game, it was the Dreamers that seemed almost unstoppable, shooting over 60% from the two point area and three point area. The high octane offense of the Dreamers was led by a pair of red hot shooting performances from World Imports Mike Miller and Will Artino. The duo each scored 34 points, with Miller also chipping 10 assists and Artino 3 blocked shots.
Macau raced to an early lead in the first quarter, opening up an 8-2 advantage with a driving layup from Mikh McKinney. But back to back triples from Tevin Glass and Miller immediately tied the game. Both squads traded baskets for majority of the period, before a booming slam from Miller plus a bonus freethrow gave the Dreamers the lead for the first time. The first period ended with the Dreamers taking a 35-31 lead into the second period.
The Dreamers seized control opening up a 10 point lead via a layup with 1:02 left in the first half. Macau went on a rare scoring drought, as they watched the Dreamers pulled away even further in the third quarter. A 15-6 start to the third quarter gave Formosa it’s biggest lead of the game at 17 points at the 6:19 mark of the period.
The Black Bears battled back behind hot shooting from Mikh McKinney and Liu Zihao. Liu’s triple trimmed the deficit to eight points with 20 seconds left, before free throws from Miller made it a 10 point lead entering the final frame.
Liu tried to rally back the Black Bears, scoring 10 points in the first five minutes of the quarter. A triple from Watkins with 3:46 left made it a 110-104 in favor of the Dreamers. Both teams exchanged baskets entering the last two minutes, before Artino’s layup at the 1:42 mark made it a seven point advantage.
The final run from the Black Bears came from McKinney and Derek King, as the duo made three and two freethrows respectively, bringing their squad agonizingly close only down by 2 points with 1:05 remaining. However clutch baskets from Artino and Glass sealed the deal, allowing the Dreamers to preserve the victory.
A stellar game from Watkins with 28 points and 12 rebounds kept the Black Bears close, and while Liu was also spectacular with 26 points on 5/8 shooting for the home team.
Glass and Kenny Chien chipped in with 22 and 17 points respectively for the Dreamers, as they outlasted the Black Bears in one of the most high scoring games of the season.
The Dreamers finish at 3rd place in the standings with the victory, the second team in the ABL to grab 10 wins right behind the Saigon Heat. The Black Bears fall to 6th place, with a 7-6 record.
