MANILA, Philippines – Rhenz Abando and the Anyang KGC rode on a furious fourth-quarter rally as they overcame a gutsy challenge from SJ Belangel and the Daegu KOGAS Pegasus for their eighth straight win, 70-64, in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) on Sunday, February 12.

After trailing most of the game, Anyang turned things around and proved why it is the No. 1 team in the league as it dominated Daegu, 20-9, in the payoff period. 

Former NBA player Omari Spellman put on a show for Anyang for the fifth straight contest, dropping a game-high 25 points to go with 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 blocks. 

Locals Bae Byung-jun and Oh Se-keun also stepped up to the plate with 12 and 11 points, respectively, as Anyang’s Filipino import Abando continued to fire blanks.

The KBL Slam Dunk Contest winner Abando scored only 3 points on 1-of-4 shooting on top of 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals in 17 minutes and 22 seconds of action.

After returning from a seven-game absence, Abando averaged just 3 points on 25% field goal shooting in Anyang’s past four outings. 

Former San Miguel Beermen import Devon Scott and Lee Dae-sung came up with 15 points each for Daegu, while Lee Dae-heon added 12.

Belangel, meanwhile, had 8 points on 3-of-9 shooting, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist in close to 26 minutes of play.

With the hard-earned victory, Anyang climbed to 31-11, while Daegu, which lost its eighth consecutive game, slipped further down to 13-27.

Elsewhere, Dave Ildefonso and the Suwon KT Sonicboom scored an 86-73 win over the Jeonju KCC Aegis.

Ildefonso, however, failed to make the most of his limited seven-minute playing time as he recorded just 1 point, 1 rebound, and 1 assist.

Justin Gutang’s Changwon LG Sakers also emerged victorious on Sunday with a 94-84 triumph versus the Seoul SK Knights.

Gutang converted on two of his four attempts from the field to wind up with 4 points, while also tallying 1 assist and 1 steal.

Ildefonso’s Suwon improved to 18-23, while Gutang’s Changwon upped its second-best record to 27-14.