BIG spending Seapower clinched their first title in three years by beating Suntex 72-56 in the Senior Shield final before a capacity crown of almost 2,000 at the MacPherson Stadium last night.
Seapower, winners of the Shield and League double in 1992, staked their claim for a clean-sweep of the domestic titles with their overwhelming victory.
Team manager John Sham said: 'We always have a good team but we are even stronger this year with Chan Kin-man and Leung Yuet-ming joining us, so we are hoping to win all the local titles.
'I don't think we were put to the test in the Shield because this event was for local players only. Our main targets are to win the Fukien Cup and the Division A1 League.' Seapower have recruited American professional Mark Meredith, a favourite with Hong Kong fans, to lead their challenge in the two other championships.
Seapower got off on a promising note last night with Lam Chun-wai netting a three-pointer to open the scoring, but they were unable to pull away and Suntex matched them basket for basket.
However, two accurate outside throws by the sharp shooting Lam saw Seapower open up a 20-14 lead in the eighth minute.
Yung Kam-wah inspired a Suntex recovery and they closed the gap to 29-31 with two minutes of the first half remaining, but Seapower hung on for a 35-31 advantage at half-time.
