(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)
The Philippine Patriots stormed to an early double-digit lead and never looked back, posting a 77-43 rout of the Kuala Lumpur Dragons in Game 1 of their ASEAN Basketball League semifinal duel Sunday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
A 16-2 scoring binge in the first seven minutes of play got the Patriots going as the locals complemented the inside dominance of imports Jason Dixon and Gabe Freeman with their outside shooting.
The Patriots can finish off the Dragons in Game 2 in the Malaysian capital this Wednesday.
Coach Louie Alas credited the defense of the Patriots, who took Kuala Lumpur’s Filipino imports out of the equation early.
“Gabe showed good leadership,” said Alas after the Patriots took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. “The team also displayed great defensive intensity. We took it possession by possession. They made my job easy.”
Freeman led the Patriots with 15 points and 11 rebounds while Dixon added 13 markers and 13 boards.
The Patriots, the tournament top seed after ruling the eliminations with an 11-4 record, will shoot for the first championship berth at the Dragons’ homecourt.
“It will be different when we get there,” said Alas, who will leave for Kuala Lumpur with the team on Monday. “Their crowd will be a factor.”
The Singapore Slingers, who finished second in the eliminations with a 10-5 slate, were battling No. 3 Indonesia Satria Muda BritAma at presstime in the other Final Four duel at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The Patriots built a 30-16 advantage at halftime then stretched this to 23 points, 41-18, after opening the third quarter with an 11-2 spurt.
It was all Patriots from there, with Erwin Sta. Maria capping the team’s dominance with a highlight slam at the buzzer.
The Dragons’ Filipino import Rudy Lingganay was held scoreless in the first half before finishing with a team-high 10 points.
The scores:
PHILIPPINES 77—Freeman 15, Dixon 13, Acuña 12, Ybañez 8, Gaco 7, Sta. Maria 7, Baclao 6, Espiritu 4, Mirza 3, Alcaraz 2, Coronel 0, Wainwright 0.
KUALA LUMPUR 43—Lingganay 10, Brown 7, Loh 7, Hugnatan 6, Kuete 4, Kow 4, Bandaying 3, Batumalai 1, Chee 1, Wee 0, Ng 0, Chai 0.
Quarters: 18-6, 30-16, 52-30, 77-43
The Philippine Patriots stormed to an early double-digit lead and never looked back, posting a 77-43 rout of the Kuala Lumpur Dragons in Game 1 of their ASEAN Basketball League semifinal duel Sunday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
A 16-2 scoring binge in the first seven minutes of play got the Patriots going as the locals complemented the inside dominance of imports Jason Dixon and Gabe Freeman with their outside shooting.
The Patriots can finish off the Dragons in Game 2 in the Malaysian capital this Wednesday.
Coach Louie Alas credited the defense of the Patriots, who took Kuala Lumpur’s Filipino imports out of the equation early.
“Gabe showed good leadership,” said Alas after the Patriots took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. “The team also displayed great defensive intensity. We took it possession by possession. They made my job easy.”
Freeman led the Patriots with 15 points and 11 rebounds while Dixon added 13 markers and 13 boards.
The Patriots, the tournament top seed after ruling the eliminations with an 11-4 record, will shoot for the first championship berth at the Dragons’ homecourt.
“It will be different when we get there,” said Alas, who will leave for Kuala Lumpur with the team on Monday. “Their crowd will be a factor.”
The Singapore Slingers, who finished second in the eliminations with a 10-5 slate, were battling No. 3 Indonesia Satria Muda BritAma at presstime in the other Final Four duel at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The Patriots built a 30-16 advantage at halftime then stretched this to 23 points, 41-18, after opening the third quarter with an 11-2 spurt.
It was all Patriots from there, with Erwin Sta. Maria capping the team’s dominance with a highlight slam at the buzzer.
The Dragons’ Filipino import Rudy Lingganay was held scoreless in the first half before finishing with a team-high 10 points.
The scores:
PHILIPPINES 77—Freeman 15, Dixon 13, Acuña 12, Ybañez 8, Gaco 7, Sta. Maria 7, Baclao 6, Espiritu 4, Mirza 3, Alcaraz 2, Coronel 0, Wainwright 0.
KUALA LUMPUR 43—Lingganay 10, Brown 7, Loh 7, Hugnatan 6, Kuete 4, Kow 4, Bandaying 3, Batumalai 1, Chee 1, Wee 0, Ng 0, Chai 0.
Quarters: 18-6, 30-16, 52-30, 77-43
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