BY REYNALD MAGALLON
Jeremy Lin proved to be the biggest thorn to the side of Meralco, leading New Taipei to an 89-77 win on the road to stay undefeated in the East Asia Super League on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
With Filipino Linsanity fans coming out to witness the former NBA star, Lin made sure to put on a show and presided over a huge third quarter rally that created the much needed separation against the Bolts.
New Taipei remained untouched through three games to solidify its spot atop the Group B standings while Meralco was shoved down to the bottom after absorbing its second-straight defeat, both at home, for a 1-4 record.
Lin orchestrated the offense for the Kings with 23 points, 10 rebounds and four assists – none more crucial than the back-to-back triples to spark an 11-0 spurt to open the third frame and take control of the contest.
New Taipei actually trailed, 47-42, at the break before Lin took over for the Kings who regained the lead, 47-53, following the telling spurt early in the quarter. The visiting team never let go of the driver seat, even padding the lead to as high as 14, 76-62, midway through the fourth quarter.
Meralco import Zach Lofton had 20 points, five rebounds and four assists but fired blanks from the deep after missing all of his seven attempts. Allein Maliksi had 12 points while Chris Banchero chipped in 10 but were not enough to alleviate the absence of key players in Aaron Black and Chris Newsome.
Lin, for his part, had ample support from the rest of the Kings with four players breaching double figures in the contest. Chin-Min Yang fired 13 points while Kenneth Manigault Jr. added 12 points, nine rebounds and five steals.
Lin’s brother Joseph as well as Kai-Yan Lee contributed 11 apiece.
