The Sina Hong Kong All-Stars turned to their foreign players in the second game of their Asian Basketball Association League showdown with the South Korean All-Stars last night, but suffered yet another defeat, going down 96-85 at the Southorn Stadium in Wan Chai.
Instead of fielding an all-local starting lineup, as they did in the first game on Thursday, which saw them crash to a 103-86 loss, Hong Kong coach Wai Kee-shun employed stronger starters, headed by Americans Michael Cumberland and Poncho Hodges.
The change initially proved effective as the Hong Kong side took a brief 7-0 lead before their opponents stormed back.
The presence of Cumberland, who topped his team's scoring with 28 points, was vital to the All-Stars as they fell 12 points behind when he was rested in the second quarter of the game. When he returned to the court, he helped the team close the gap to only five points in the fourth quarter.
Wai was not downhearted by the defeat, saying that he has come up with a blueprint for the development of local players. 'Rather than using all of the local players in one game, I played some specific players tonight. It helps the whole team operate better.
'Our teenage player, Tam Wai-yeung, played quite well in front, so I gave him more time on court tonight,' Wai said.
