BASKETBALL/Narrow victory for DEA at home following Gadiaga's late eruption

Taipei, Dec. 17 (CNA) New Taipei CTBC DEA extended its league-best home game winning streak to 22 Saturday on the back of Mohammed al Bachir Gadiaga's late game eruption.

The T1 LEAGUE reigning regular season MVP scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, including four treys and a game-winning layup with 3.6 seconds left, to end the game against the T1 LEAGUE defending champions Kaohsiung Aquas 102-100, marking its 22nd regular season win at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in a row.

Gadiaga logged 27 points, seven boards, seven dimes plus four steals on Saturday as the hot streak in his third pro season continued.

The 25-year-old small forward currently has the second highest points per game, 25.2, among players who have played at least five games, putting him only behind the Taoyuan Beer Leopards import Lasan Kromah's 27 points.

Gadiaga's offensive efficiency also hit a new high with a 50.9 field goal percentage while he also nailed 42.5 percent of shots from beyond the arc.

"I'm glad to win the game today because the last time we had a huge lead against the Aquas in the first half, we lost on a buzzer-beater," Gadiga said, labeling the Saturday win a reversal of fortunes.

DEA head coach Lee Yi-hua (李逸驊) said of the hard-won victory that players turned it around following an "absent-minded" first quarter after he urged them to stay calm and remember there were still three quarters to go.

The Aquas started with a 27-9 run from the tip-off, but the home team responded with a 26-19 second quarter to finish the first half 42-46, only four points behind.

Meanwhile, the Aquas were led by shooting guard Yu Huan-ya (于煥亞), who went off from deep in the second half, draining five three-pointers in the third quarter and four in the fourth en route to a career-high 32 points.

Yu finished the game with 10 treys to tie with Taichung Wagor Suns import Jordan Heading and DEA shooting guard Hsieh Ya-hsuan (謝亞軒) for the league record.

Asked about his scoring streak, the 30-year-old shooter credited his coach, who told him to play the game his way, but he said he regretted that the team had blown its huge lead.

"We need to learn how to play when we have the lead, we often blow it in one quarter. We yielded too many defensive rebounds today and let [the DEA] have too many fast breaks."

The result led to the DEA staying on top of the league with 7 wins and 2 losses, while the Aquas sit third with 3-5, behind the Leopards 4-4.

The DEA will host the Leopards at 4:30 on Sunday.