MANILA – Changwon LG Sakers leaned on the double-double effort of Carl Tamayo to score a 75-66 victory over Seoul SK Knights in Game 1 of the KBL Finals on Monday at the Jamsil Indoor Stadium.
The former University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons forward finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds to go with two assists and a steal as the LG Sakers took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
“I feel great about winning the first game. However, there are many games ahead, so I have to prepare well,” Tamayo said. “I was able to play a good game and win because I executed well as coach prepared.”
“I have to prepare well for the next game as well because I know that SK will change their defensive schemes. I just have to listen to the coach’s words and do them,” he added.
Assem Marei added a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds for the LG Sakers, which is aiming for its first KBL championship in 28 years.
LG Sakers head coach Cho Sang-hyun lauded the defensive effort of his team in the series-opener, particularly against SK Knights reinforcement Jameel Warney.
“They played defense the way I wanted. I wanted to limit Warney to around 20 points, and it worked out well. The players did a good job with the defensive changes. I think limiting them to 66 points was the driving force behind the victory,” Cho said after the game.
“We won the first game and the most important thing is maintaining our stamina,” he added. “I think we need to review the things that didn’t work out in Game 1 and we need to prepare for the second game that way.”
Warney finished with a double-double of 21 points and 13 rebound, Youngjun Ahn added 11 markers and five rebounds, while Filipino guard Juan Gomez de Liaño was not inserted in the game by the SK Knights./PN
