By REY LACHICA
JAKARTA, Indonesia — At the end of five grueling months, the Philippine Patriots stood proudly at the podium on a hot and humid Sunday after producing another first for Philippine basketball.
Putting strong emphasis on defense and depth, the Patriots scored a gutsy 75-67 win over Indonesia’s Satria Muda BritAma to add the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) championship to the country’s list of achievements at the BritAma Arena.
For sure, this championship will likely embellish the country’s status as the premier basketball nation in the region.
And considering the time and effort they spent - not to mention the huge budget to maintain the team - this one is naturally sweet.
Though the high-flying Gabe Freeman had one of his poorer shooting nights, his frontcourt buddy Jason Dixon sizzled for 28 points. He also had12 rebounds to help the Patriots sweep the best-of-five title series. They won Game 1, 78-68, and Game 2, 72-53, which were both played in Manila.
But one could not belittle Freeman’s effort either.
The 6-foot-5 Freeman, who won the Best Import plum in the PBA last year, finished with 17 points and 19 rebounds.
He also made life miserable for the usually hot Alex Hartman of Satria Muda.
The extent of Freeman’s impact on the Patriots can’t be understated enough as they won all their games since he joined the team late in the elims.
While the locals provided the extra help, it was the duo of Dixon and Freeman that spelled the difference as they outplayed their Indonesian counterparts - Hartman and Nakiea Miller who finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Co-team owner Mikee Romero, president and CEO of Harbour Centre, readily agreed that it was the brilliance of Dixon and Freeman that helped them win the championship.
“They comprehensively outplayed their Indonesian counterparts,” said Romero. “This is great for Philippine basketball. Winning the first championship is always sweet.
“This championship is simply great, so I like to thank my partner, Tonyboy, for all the support and motivation he gave to the team. And to all the people behind the team, especially our team manager Eric Arejola, and fans, thank you,” added Romero, who watched the team along with wife and daughter.
Coach Louie Alas again credited the win to their defense, saying: "We put more premium on defense the entire season."
Posts
0 comments: