McLaughlin leads HK to win, 32 pts, 23 rebs

Chris McLaughlin made his PBA debut for Hong Kong (HK) on Tuesday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City, leading HK to an 84-75 victory over Blackwater despite the absence of import Cameron Clark due to a muscle pull.

McLaughlin delivered a standout performance with 32 points and 23 rebounds alongside three assists, one steal, and one block, turning the game around in the second half thanks to his strong play.

Despite trailing by ten at halftime, HK outscored Blackwater 27-9 in the third quarter to take control of the game, with contributions from Glen Yang and Kobey Lam.

Eastern head coach Mensur Bajramovic praised McLaughlin's leadership and noted that the team had to find other ways to score creatively due to Clark's absence.

Blackwater's George King scored 41 points but struggled in the second half, scoring only ten points as HK tightened their defense.