Lo Yi-ting led a spirited South China to their first silverware of the season as they narrowly defeated defending champions Fukien 85-83 in the 3-D Gold Super League Cup final at Southorn Stadium yesterday.
Having lost to Winling in both the Senior Shield and the A1 Division championship, the Caroliners finally had something to celebrate in the tournament which features the top four finishers of the domestic league.
Point guard Lo, who plays for China Basketball Association side Fujian but rejoined his old club for the tournament, had a team-high 28 points, same as American forward Marcus Landry, who briefly played for the New York Knicks in 2009.
'[Lo] has become a true professional after playing in the CBA for just one season,' South China coach Hung Yau-yik said. 'You can tell from the way he played and the number of points he scored. It's not easy for a Hong Kong player to achieve such a high standard.'
Lo admitted he had made marked improvement. 'I have learned a lot from playing in the CBA,' said the 1.75-metre guard, who claimed six rebounds. 'Mentally, I have become a much stronger player and I also control the match much better in the No 1 position.
'But today's victory does not come from me only. Our two foreign players also did a great job. Marcus did very well in attacking while David Harrison was dominant in rebounds.'