ULAANBAATAR (Mongolia) - It was easily their toughest Group Phase campaign to date in the Basketball Champions League Asia-East (BCL Asia-East), but the Chinggis Broncos still got the job done at the end.
The Mongolian powerhouse submitted their most consistent outing yet to send New Taipei packing, 108-75, and complete the Final 6 picture of the 2026 competitions, Friday night at the MBank Arena here.
Questions arose about their ability - and chances - to advance after losing four in a row since a triumphant season opener, but the defending champions squashed all the skepticism with a stupendous showing.
The men of Coach Ariunbold Erdene were quick to seize control early by jumping to a 32-14 lead, never to let up as they showed how much they've learned from their humiliating meltdowns in the last two games.
In fact, the Broncos had already poured 60 big points at the half, and then got past the century mark barely three minutes into the deciding chapter in a total, flat-out domination of their visiting TPBL counterparts.
Eventually, they'd celebrate together with the home crowd in attendance as they joined Dewa United Banten, Hi-Tech Basketball Club, the Johor Southern Tigers, Taoyuan Pauian, and South China in the Final Phase.
"Everybody fought their best," said Erdene. "In our last two to three games, we learned a lot of things, and we needed to fix a lot of things. So starting tomorrow, we're gonna start preparing for the next round."
Four players finished in double figures in the wire-to-wire win, with explosive guard Stedmon Lemon showing the way with 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the floor, spiked by a pair of threes, to lead all scorers.
Azbayar Altangerel, weeks removed from a Finals MVP run in their 2025-26 The League conquest, came through with a big double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds plus 4 assists, netting an efficiency of 30.
Temuulen Chinges delivered 15 points off the bench, with lead big man Jordy Tshimanga coming alive with 14 points and 15 rebounds as he and Altangerel combined for more than half of the team's boards (46).
Aside from rebounding, the Broncos did extremely well in sharing the wealth as shown by their 37 assists, 11 of which came from Barsbold Baatar Erdene as he showed a conscious effort in finding his teammates.
"They wanted to survive in this tournament, so they understood that they had to play. We gave everything in this game," the youthful bench tactician said. "In the coming days, we will be preparing, especially on defense."
Su Pei Kai, on the other hand, led the Kings with 18 points in the loss that foiled their bid of returning to the Final Phase after qualifying for the Final 4 last season, which culminated with a fourth-place finish.
Jayden Gardner made 15 points while Jordan Tolbert - himself a former Bronco and a big reason behind their unbeaten run to the championship - added 12 points and 6 rebounds in the crushing defeat.
New Taipei finished their campaign with a 2-4 record.
FIBA