Taiwan NT leveled Pampanga Bulls 90-90 in the first warmup game of its Philippines tour. The game was held on Aug.7 at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center, City of San Fernando, with no overtime period being played.
The Taiwanese clung to a slim 29-28 lead after the first period. From there, it was an all-Pampanga show as Dave Bautista, Billy Bansil and Marlon Tadeo defied their much taller opponents to take the half, 53-48.
The Bulls then got a big boost after Taiwan main man Tien Lei got his fifth and final foul with still over seven minutes to play. However, the Taiwanese rallied to take the lead with less than a minute to play behind Tsun Wen-din and Wu Dai-hao, 90-89. Tadeo then drew a foul with 25 seconds to play but could only split his free throws to tie the score at 90-90. Taiwan NT then failed to score as the Bulls recovered possession. Ariel Garcia missed the potential game winner as his jumper with 1.8 seconds to go bounced off the rim.
Bautista, the current NBL MVP race leader, topped the Bulls with 20 points. Bansil and Tadeo added 17 points each. Chiu Chi-yi paced the visitors with 18 points while Wu added 15. Yen Shin-shu tallied 11 points, all in the first half.
PAMPANGA (90) – D. Bautista 20, Bansil 17, Tadeo 17, Santos 12, Tolentino 6, A. Garcia 5, Duyag 5, Alberto 2, Mañalac 2, Yambao 2, Manlutac 1, Coronel 1, R. Garcia 0, S. Garcia 0, Cocjin 0.
TAIWAN NT (90) – Chiu Chih-yi 18, Wu Dai-hao 15, Tsun Wen-din 14, Yen Shin-shu 11, Tien Lei 10, Chen Chih-chung 7, Chen Huei 5, Yang Che-yi 4, Hong Chi-chao 4, Lin Chi-jay 2, Wu Chih-wei 0, Wu Chih-yun 0, Lee Chi-yi 0, Ho Sho-jen 0, Yang Yu-ming 0.
Period Scores: 28-29, 53-48, 72-67, 90-90.