Carl Tamayo dazzles anew, outduels Juan GDL as Changwon grabs 2-0 lead vs Seoul in KBL finals

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Carl Tamayo continues his scoring spree in the Korean Basketball League finals as the Changwon LG Sakers take a 2-0 lead against the Juan Gomez de Liaño-led Seoul SK Knights in their best-of-seven series

MANILA, Philippines – The Carl Tamayo show continues in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) finals. 

After a 24-point Game 1 explosion, Tamayo delivered another high-scoring performance for the Changwon LG Sakers as they took a 2-0 lead against Juan Gomez de Liaño and the Seoul SK Knights in their best-of-seven series with a thrilling 76-71 win on Wednesday, May 7.

Tamayo picked up where he left off from Changwon’s 75-66 victory on Monday, May 5, sizzling for a game-high 27 points this time around on 10-of-20 shooting, together with 7 rebounds and 1 steal in a little less than 34 minutes of play. 

Meanwhile, Gomez de Liaño – who did not see action in the series opener – showed what he is capable of when given playing time as he led Seoul in scoring with a KBL career-high of 19 points on 8-of-16 field goal clip in 23 minutes and 42 seconds of action off the bench. 

Gomez de Liaño also tallied 4 rebounds and 2 assists in the loss as the top-ranked SK Knights once again failed to take advantage of their home court at the Jamsil Student Gymnasium. 

Both former UP Fighting Maroons stars Tamayo and Gomez de Liaño came up big in the clutch for their respective squads in the tightly-contested battle. 

With Changwon threatening to pull away with a 67-61 lead after a reverse layup by Tamayo at the 2:37 mark of the fourth quarter, Seoul countered with a quick 5-0 run, capped by a Gomez de Liaño corner triple to pull within just a single point, 66-67, with still 1:53 remaining.

Later on, Gomez de Liaño had an opportunity to tie things up at 69-all after a two-pointer by Changwon’s Jung In-Deo, but his three-point attempt failed to hit the mark.

Tamayo then put Changwon’s lead back to a two-possession game after knocking down two foul shots with 1:10 left, before Gomez de Liaño responded with a tough pull-up jumper off the glass to slice the deficit back to 3 points, 68-71.

Changwon and Seoul traded long bombs in the next two possessions, and with the SK Knights still trailing by 3, 71-74, Yu Ki-sang finally sealed the win for the LG Sakers with two pressure-packed charities, settling the final count at 76-71. 

Ki-sang backed up Tamayo’s 27-point output with 14 points, while Changwon’s Egyptian import Assem Marei posted a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds.

For Seoul, American reinforcement Jameel Warney helped Gomez de Liaño carry the team’s scoring load with 17 points, while local Kim Sun-hyung recorded an all-around line of 10 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. 

Game 3 between Changwon and Seoul is on Friday, May 9 at 6 pm, Manila time. – Rappler.com