Philippine Patriots Coast To Inaugural ABL Championship

(From ABL)

The inaugural GE Asean Basketball League season drew to a close yesterday as the Philippine Patriots displayed their all-round supremacy on the hardwood to defeat Satria Muda Britama 75-67 in Jakarta, Indonesia and earn a much deserved 3-0 series whitewash to claim the title of champions.

The emphasis of the entire season has been about the strength in depth of the Patriots and game three was no exception as while their dynamic scorer Gabe Freeman had one of his poorer shooting nights, his American counterpart Jason Dixon was simply unstoppable with 28 points and 12 rebounds.

That’s not to belittle Freeman’s effort either. He ended up with 17 points and 19 rebounds and played some simply suffocating defense on Alex Hartman, a key factor in the series win. In fact, the extent of Freeman’s impact on this team cannot be understated enough as since he joined the team with 2 games to go in the regular season, the Patriots have been undefeated.

Freeman and Dixon are undoubtedly the league’s most potent 1-2 punch and they showed their mettle again by comprehensively outplaying the Satria Muda import duo of Hartman and Nakiea Miller who finished with 14 and 13 points respectively.

After the Patriots had won the first 2 games, the series shifted to Jakarta where SMB coach Fictor Roring was hoping for a shift in momentum. The intensity and atmosphere generated by their home crowd seemed to lift the Indonesians as they stormed to an early 9 point lead 14-5.

Philippine Patriots Edge Closer to ABL Championships

(From Asean Basketball League)

The Philippine Patriots have put themselves within touching distance of the inaugural ASEAN Basketball League championship with a resounding 72-53 victory over Satria Muda Britama in Game 2 of the grand finals at the Fil Oil Flying V Arena, Manila

Wednesday, February 17, 2010, Philippines - The Philippine Patriots have put themselves within touching distance of the inaugural ASEAN Basketball League championship with a resounding 72-53 victory over Satria Muda Britama in Game 2 of the grand finals at the Fil Oil Flying V Arena, Manila.

Patriots coach Louis Alas had called for a more sustained defensive effort and got it this time, holding the Indonesian champions to just 53 points.

With a 2-0 lead, the series now shifts to Jakarta where Satria Muda will be hoping that their home court will be as kind to them as Manila was to the Patriots. With their backs to the walls, Satria Muda need some inspiration to get anywhere near the Patriots, who are still unbeaten after adding import Gabe Freeman to their lineup.

Freeman was at his usual brilliant best with 23 points and 13 rebounds but when he had to sit down after being saddled with 3 fouls in the second quarter, it was local Filipino Rob Wainwright who took over the scoring mantle.

Doing the majority of his damage with Freeman on the bench, Wainwright finished with 16 points, 11 of those coming in the first half, yet another testament to the strength in depth that the Patriots can call upon.

As for the Indonesians, it was yet another disappointing outing for their import duo of Alex Hartman and Nakiea Miller finishing with 12 and 11 points respectively, figures which are simply not good enough if the Indonesians are to have any chance whatsoever of making this series a competitive one.

Patriots Gun For 2-0 Lead vs Indons

(From Manila Bulletin)

Game Wednesday (The Arena in San Juan)
8 p.m. — RP Patriots vs Satria Muda BritAma (Patriots lead series 1-0)

After a hard-fought victory last Friday, the Philippine Patriots try to put Satria Muda BritAma on the brink when they collide in Game 2 of their ASEAN Basketball League finals series this Wednesday at The Arena in San Juan.

Behind the explosive game of Gabe Freeman, the Filipino cagers drew first blood in this best-of-five title showdown with a 78-68 victory but not after encountering some scary moments in the third quarter when they trailed 65-50.

But the squad co-owned by Harbour Centre's Mikee Romero and businessman Tony Boy Cojuangco are eager to improve on their showing in Game 1 when they meet the Jakarta-based cagers at a rare start time of 8 p.m.

“For the past three days, what we did was to perfect the ways to break their pressure zone defense. It’s very hard but the boys are improving,” said coach Louie Alas. “I told them that we beat them in our first three games with our own defense, now it’s time to show to them that we can play smart defense also.”

Freeman, who replaced the 6-foot-5 Brandon Powell, registered what would likely be the league's highest point output by a player in a single game with 39 points aside from his 14 rebounds.

Despite that, Alas is wary of the Indonesians' capability to even the series behind imports Nakiea Miller and Alex Hartman.

Patriots, Indons Begin Title Series

(From Manila Bulletin)

Game Friday (Ynares Sports Arena)
6 p.m. — RP Patriots vs Satria Muda BritAma

The Philippines and Indonesia try to highlight their brewing basketball rivalry in the region when the Patriots and Satria Muda BritAma start their best-of-five title series this Friday in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

The RP Patriots, who topped the eliminations at 11-4, are heavy favorites having beaten the Indons in all three meetings during the preliminaries.

But team officials are not ready to cool the champagne at this point. Co-team owner Mikee Romero and coach Louie Alas believe the situation is different this time with so much at stake.

"The finals series is totally different from the elimination, so I expect an exciting showdown," said Romero, owner of the Harbour Centre franchise that won seven straight title in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL).

Romero also believes that a totally different Satria Muda BritAma will show up today.

For his part, Alas likes the team’s chances.

Patriots Face Indons in Finals

(From Manila Bulletin)

Jeered all throughout by a partisan crowd, import Nakiea Miller had the last laugh Sunday as he helped power Satria Muda BritAma to an 86-76 win over the Singapore Slingers and into a finals date with the Philippine Patriots for the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) crown.

Held to just two points in the first half, Miller fired 20 points in the second half to finish with 22 points and 14 rebounds as the Jakarta-based squad won for the second straight time in their best-of-three semis series to advance to the finals.

The title series starts on Friday at the Ynares Sports Center in Pasig with Game 2 scheduled on February 17 at The Arena in San Juan before the series shifts to BritAma Arena on February 21. If necessary, Game 4 will also be held at BritAma on February 24. Game 5 is scheduled at the Ynares on February 28.

Though the Patriots have beaten the Indons three times in the elims, co-team owner Mikee Romero and coach Louie Alas expect the title series to be tight and exciting one.

“We have an intense rivalry with Indonesia dating back our days in the SEABA Club Championship, so I expect the series to be an emotional one. But I have strong faith in our boys, we’re determined to win the first-ever title of the tournament,” said Romero.

Romero, who also funded the Philippine basketball team in the 2007 SEA Games where the Nationals posted a record winning average margin of 42 points, said the Patriots, especially imports Gabe Freeman and Jason Dixon, are all pumped up to battle the Indons.

“They’re all ready for the series,” said team manager Erick Arejola. “Coach Louie is now working on the details of our preparation.”

Patriots Crush KL Dragons

(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.”

Asean Basketball League: Patriots win puts Dragons in playoff

(From New Straits Times)

AFTER a tumultuous regular season, Kuala Lumpur Dragons finally have something to celebrate when the Philippine Patriots trounced Brunei Barracudas yesterday to hand the Malaysian side the final Asean Basketball League playoff berth.
KL Dragons did their part on Saturday with a tight 70-67 win over Satria Muda BritAma to finish with a 7-8 record but their playoff fate hinged on yesterday's crucial match in Manila.

In the end, the Patriots ran out comfortable 87-65 winners to seal the regular season championship and set up a best-of-three semi-finals series against the fourth-placed Dragons.

Dragons coach Goh Cheng Huat was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief after the team's initial struggles saw them fall behind the Barracudas in the playoff contention.

"We are just glad to have made it through and anything from this point on will be a bonus. We beat the Patriots once in the league but they are the favourites although we definitely will give our best against them," said Cheng Huat on the team's arrival from Jakarta yesterday.

Patriots finished top of the standings with a 11-4 record to claim home court advantage but will be wary of taking on the Dragons, who have run into form at just the right time after winning three of their last four games.

Ironically, the Dragons final push for the playoffs began with a spirited win against the Patriots on Jan 9 but the league winners have since strengthened their team with the inclusion of Gabriel Freeman, the 2009 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Best Import Award winner for the Albany Patroons, in place of fellow American Brandon Powell.

In the other semi-final series, the Singapore Slingers have home court advantage against Satria Muda after beating Thailand Tigers 92-78 to finish second in the standings.

RESULTS -- Philippine Patriots 87 Brunei Barracudas 65, Thailand Tigers 78 Singapore Slingers 92.