Patriots rule ABL

Source: MB.com.ph
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A sweet sweep for the Philippine Patriots.

More than the honor of winning the inaugural crown of the ASEAN Baskteball League (ABL), the Patriots can take pride of the way they demolished the rugged Satria Muda BritAma right in front of their boisterous supporters that almost filled the BritAma Arena here.

Unlike in the first two games of the best-of-five series, the RP Patriots turned to bull-strong Jason Dixon this time for the big baskets as the 6-foot-10 former PBA import barreled his way to 28 points and 12 rebounds for his 15th double-double performance in the tournament.

After a tight and tense battle in the first half, the Patriots turned on the heat in the third period where they posted their first sizable lead at 60-48.

They stretched it to 68-52 early in the fourth quarter when Christian Coronel completed his steal off Mario Wuysang and Gabe Freeman scored on a power play.

The Patriots used that 16-point lead as a cushion against the last-ditch effort by the Indonesians to turn the game around. Though he had difficulty finding his range early, Freeman still finished with 17 markers and 19 boards.

The Patriots, co-owned by Harbour Centre Mikee Romero and businessman Tonyboy Cojuangco, thus completed a grand sweep of their best-of-five championship which started in Manila. They took Game 1, 78-68, and Game 2, 72-53.

Again, Patriots coach Louie Alas paid tribute to their defense for the win, saying: “The whole season we really emphasized on defense, especially this series.”

“I told the boys to play as if we’re in the jungle and they responded well,” said Alas, who also personally ended his title drought.

The last time Alas savored the sweet taste of winning a championship was back in the 2005 when he steered Letran to victory.

“It’s nice to win a championship again,” said Alas.

Alas’ joy was shared by Romero although the amiable owner is no stranger to winning, having won a record seven straight championships in the PBL.

“It’s a difficult win but it’s a great feeling. I want also to salute the Indons for giving us a good fight the whole time,” said Romero, who arrived here to support the team along with wife Sheila and daughter.

Also shining for the Patriots were Warren Ybañez, defensive specialists Nonoy Baclao and Elmer Espiritu and Rob Wainwright.

The scores:
PHILIPPINES 75 — Dixon 28, Freeman 17, Wainwright 9, Gaco 9, Ybañez 7, Sta. Maria 3, Coronel 2, Alcaraz 0, Acuna 0, Espiritu 0, Baclao 0, Mirza 0.
INDONESIA 67 — Gunawan R. 20, Hartman 14, Miller 13, Prihantono 9, Sondakh 8, Wuysang 2, Wijaya 1, Achmad 0, Gunawan G. 0, Siregar 0, Situmorang 0, Arifin 0.
Quarters: 13-17, 35-31, 64-52, 75-67.