By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Rhenz Abando and Anyang KGC ended the 2022 on a winning note as they beat RJ Abarrientos and the Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus in the 2022-2023 Korean Basketball League (KBL) on New Year’s Eve at Anyang Gymnasium.

The former Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights star only tallied four points, one rebound, one assist, and a block, but Anyang still managed to eke out a 77-68 win.

Omari Spellman, who played for the Golden State Warriors in the NBA before, led the way for Anyang with double-double 16 points and 17 rebounds to go with five assists and three blocks.

Moon Sung-gon and Byun Joon-Hyung chipped in 15 and 14 markers, respectively. Oh Se-geun also had 13 markers as the Anyang ended the year with a 19-8 win-loss slate.

Abarrientos, a former teammate of Abando at the Gilas Pilipinas, had a much better offensive showing with 12 points to go with seven assists, four rebounds and a steal for Mobis Phoebus.

Gaige Prim finished with double-double 16 points and 12 rebounds, but Mobis Phoebus ended the year with a defeat as they dropped to a 15-12 win-loss slate.

Meanwhile, Negrense Samjosef Belangel did not see action, but Daegu KOGAS Pegasus returned to their winning ways with an 84-81 victory over Goyang Carrot Jumpers at Goyang Stadium.

The Pegasus displayed a collective effort on New Year’s Eve with Lee Dae-sung tallying 31 points on 4-of-4 shooting from deep on top of four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Murphy Holloway added double-double 23 points and 16 rebounds, while Shin Seung-min chipped in 11 markers, five boards, five assists, and two steals to end the woes of Daegu.

Belangel and the Pegasus snapped their six-game losing skid to end 2022 with an 11-16 win-loss slate. Goyang slid to 13-13 card for sixth place./ASC, WDJ