Abarrientos drains 7 threes for career-high 29, but Ulsan bows to Suwon

MANILA, Philippines – RJ Abarrientos saw his career night in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) go down the drain as the Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus failed to stretch their winning streak to three games following an 81-71 loss to the Suwon KT Sonicboom on Tuesday, December 27.

The former FEU star point guard Abarrientos shot the lights out from beyond the arc in the losing effort, connecting on 7 of his 12 long bombs to finish with a new personal KBL-best of 29 points, eclipsing his previous career-high of 23, which he set back in October. 

Abarrientos also recorded 1 rebound, 4 assists, and 2 steals, while his fellow import Gaige Prim likewise dropped 29 markers, to go along with 13 boards.

With his team trailing by double-digits with less than a minute remaining in the game, Abarientos gave Ulsan some signs of life as he drained a tough fall-away triple to cut the deficit to 7, 88-95, with 50 seconds left to play.

Suwon’s Yang Hong-seok, however, quickly put the nail in the coffin in the following possession with an and-one play over Prim.

Ha Yoongi topscored for Suwon with 27 points on 10-of-12 shooting, while Yang added 22.

Former Terrafirma Dyip import Lester Prosper, meanwhile, contributed 8 points and 4 rebounds for Suwon.

Ulsan – which saw its short two-game winning run come to an end – fell to 15-10, while Suwon moved up to 10-15. 

Meanwhile, Rhenz Abando’s Anyang KGC returned to the win column with a thrilling 84-82 escape over the Goyang Carrot Jumpers. 

Park Jihoon converted on the game-winning jumper at the buzzer as Anyang halted its two-game losing skid.

The former NCAA MVP Abando, however, did not suit up for Anyang, which improved its league-best record to 17-8. – Rappler.com