Ranked second at the end of the round-robin phase, IRB The Lord lived up to expectations to set up a final showdown with Alaxan FR Patriots in the final of the inaugural Cambodian Basketball League after outplaying Sela Meas 64-50 in the second semi-final at the Beeline Arena late on Wednesday evening.

It was obvious after the opening five minutes that the game was growing into an intense encounter.

The Lord got off to a reasonably good start with Monh Ratana’s working the perimeter and Pheng Darath scraping the paint. The two kept mixing up those offensive moves to give their side an early initiative.

Tensions were so high on the court that both sides were called out for many fouls. Despite being on the back foot, Sela Meas managed to stay within two points of their rivals, 34-32 at half-time.

The second half took a notably different turn for The Lord as their SEA Games-bound star Ouch Phanat came up with some good jump shots and fast breaks.

There were some desperate last-minute Sela Meas attempts from the perimeter but nothing at that late stage could hold back the Lord.

The Patriots-IRB The Lord Championship fight is slated for 2pm on Saturday. The third-place play-off between CCPL Heat and Sela Meas, the losing semi-finalists, is scheduled for 10am on the same day.

RESULTS

Second semi-final

IRB The Lord 64

Scorers: Ouch Phanat 16, Monh Ratana 12, Hai 10

Sela Meas 50

Scorers: Pheng Darath 13,

Samnang Sok 11, Try Thaliden 9