Philippine Patriots win No. 2 spot over Dragons

source:By Jasmine W. Payo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA—The AirAsia Philippine Patriots got the job done while getting a lift from another team in the AirAsia Asean Basketball League.

With Steve Thomas playing his best game yet, the Patriots nailed the No. 2 spot and the homecourt advantage by outlasting Indonesia Satria Muda BritAma in overtime, 77-74, on the final day of eliminations Saturday night at the BritAma Arena in Jakarta.
But the Patriots needed help from the eliminated Brunei Barracudas, who stunned the Westports Kuala Lumpur Dragons, 87-73, on the same night at the Brunei Indoor Stadium.


The loss left the Dragons with an 8-7 record behind the 9-6 slate of the Patriots, who secured the homecourt semifinal incentive given to the top two teams at the end of the eliminations.

The Patriots and the Dragons headed into Saturday’s games with similar 8-6 records, but Kuala Lumpur had a 2-1 advantage in the tiebreaker, which was based on the two teams’ head-to-head record in the three-round eliminations.

Eliminations topnotcher Chang Thailand Slammers (11-4) will kick off the semifinals against the fourth-ranked Singapore Slingers (7-8) at 3 p.m. on Saturday in Bangkok.

The Patriots will battle the No. 3 Dragons in the best-of-three series at 4 p.m. on Sunday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Thomas, who saw action the entire 45 minutes, buried the Patriots’ last four points in overtime to finish with a game-high 21 markers on top of 19 rebounds, five steals and two blocks.

Gabe Freeman, the versatile import who had overshadowed Thomas, posted a double-double for the Patriots with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Indonesia, the losing finalist last season, ended its run at fifth place with a 6-9 record, while Brunei failed to advance for the second straight year with a 4-11 card.


The scores:
PHILIPPINES 77 —Thomas 21, Freeman 18, Crisano 9, Cabatu 9, Ybañez 8, Billones 4, Alcaraz 3, Salangsang 3, Jaime 2, Fernandez 0, Gregorio 0.
INDONESIA 74 — Broxsie 17, Legaspi 16, Morrison 15, Adriano 13, Ricafuente 6, Wuysang 5, Ristanto 2, Pratama 0.
Quarters: 23-22, 40-38, 64-52, 71-71 (reg), 77-74 (OT)