Abando to strut stuff in KBL finals

MANILA, Philippines — Former NCAA champion Rhenz Abando gets a crack at another championship as top seed Anyang KGC advanced to the Korean Basketball League (KBL) finals with a 3-1 win over the Goyang Carrot Jumpers in the best-of-five semifinal series.

Abando, the Rookie-MVP from Letran, took care of business on the road at the Goyang Gymnasium, helping his team to a wire-to-wire victory, 89-61.

Seong-gon Moon led Anyang with 22 points.

Anyang, which was hailed as the regular season champion with a league-best 37-17 record, arranged a finals rematch with reigning champion Seoul SK Knights.

While still without Abando, the Slam Dunk champ during the recent KBL All-Star Game, Anyang absorbed a 4-1 defeat against Seoul in the best-of-seven finale last season.

But last month, Anyang, featuring Abando as its reinforcement under the Asian Quota Player program, exacted some sort of vengeance by ruling the inaugural East Asia Super League (EASL) Champions Week at the expense of the Seoul SK Knights, 90-84.

Seoul, which finished third in the regular season at 36-18, booked a return trip to the finals by scoring a 3-0 sweep of No. 2 Changwon LG Sakers.