JOHOR BAHRU (Malaysia) - Isaiah Briscoe turned in a stupendous showing to will South China Athletic to a 110-103 stunner of Taoyuan Pauian to sweep their way into the BCL Asia-East 2026 Semi-Finals, Thursday.
The ex-NBA pro exploded for 45 big points, including 20 in the fourth quarter alone as he powered the HKA1 outfit's rousing comeback from as much as 16 down en route to dealing the Pilots their first loss.
He was also responsible for their strong windup, swishing in a tough fall-away one-hander before knocking down a back-breaking three-pointer to build a 107-101 lead with 36.1 seconds left - all but sealing the deal.
"Keep chopping wood, go out there and have fun, play with confidence, and when the game is over, we'll see what happens," said the 30-year-old guard about the mindset he and the crew had that led to the turnaround.
Briscoe shot 17-of-25 from the floor toward resetting the record for most points by a player in a BCL Asia-East game, eclipsing the 39 made by Mike Efevberha to lead New Taipei past Hi-Tech in May 5 of last year.
The former Kentucky Wildcat also shot an excellent 8-of-10 from the free throw line and added 6 rebounds and 2 assists to his tally in a truly remarkable performance that rocked the entire Arena Larkin Indoor Stadium.
Massive thanks to him, South China not only snapped their Chinese Taipei counterparts' unbeaten seven-game winning streak but secured the no. 1 seed in Group B as well with a pristine 2-0 win-loss record.
"The next game is important for us. If we win the next game, we go into the next round. So we have to prepare well. We won today and it's good, but we now have to prepare for the next," offered head coach Lo Yi Ting.
Glen Yang came through with 22 points, none bigger than the triple he knocked down for the 102-101 lead with 1:58 remaining, which put them up for good before Briscoe took over to seal the deal.
"Honestly, I've never seen a performance like that personally," admitted Yang of his new teammate's stellar outing. "I've played with many great players, NBA-level players, but just the way he scores is like art."
Kelvin Tsang and Kyvon Davenport made 14 points apiece for South China.
Taoyuan Pauian, on the other hand, were led by Will Artino with 26 points and 8 rebounds plus 3 assists in the collapse. Alec Brown backed him up yet again with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Kuan Ta You made 12 points while Chen Chiang-Shuang chipped in 11 for the Pilots, who actually held an eight-point lead approaching the last five minutes of the match until Briscoe buckled down to work.
Despite the stunning end of their streak, Taoyuan Pauian are still headed to the Semi-Finals, but as the second-seed of the group, meaning that they will be taking on the top team of Group B in the final four.
"We just gotta be more mature as a team," said Brown. "But it's a lesson. Hopefully we can learn from it."
FIBA