2-0 lead itatarak ng SMB-Alab Pilipinas
MANILA, Philippines — Target ng San Miguel-Alab Pilipinas na kunin ang 2-0 bentahe sa muling pagharap sa Mono Vampire Thailand sa Game Two ng kanilang best-of-five championship series para sa 2017-2018 ASEAN Basketball League sa Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Sports Complex sa Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
Tangan ang 1-0 kalamangan matapos ang kanilang 143-130 overtime win sa Game One, malaki ang tiwala ni coach Jimmy Alapag na muling magwawagi ang SMB-Alab sa Mono Vampire sa kanilang laro ngayong alas-8 ng gabi.
Ayon naman kay Mono Vampire coach Douglas Marty, pilit nilang iiwasang mahulog sa foul trouble si 7-foot-5 import Sam Deguara para manatili ang kanilang dominasyon sa key area at sa rebound department.
Si Deguara ay nakapaglaro lamang ng 19 minuto dahil sa foul trouble, ngunit nakapagtala pa rin ng 21 points, 11 rebounds at 4 blocks sa Game One.
“We missed Sam (Deguara) very badly in the overtime that’s why they (Alab) dominated the rest of the game. Sam is an anchor on both ends for us, he showed a lot of good things in this game. He is going to be a key factor for the next game. I saw a lot of positives from Sam. He’s a handful for teams when he is in that key,” sabi ni Marty.
Alam ni Deguara na malaki ang kanyang maitutulong kung makakaiwas siya sa foul trouble.
“Less fouls. It’s a problem that we have to fix. We did a good job, but we need to bounce back and do a better job next time,” ayon kay Deguara.
Sa panig naman ni coach Alapag, muli siyang sasandal kina imports Justin Brownlee, nagtala ng 46 points, 11 rebounds at 9 assists at Renaldo Balkman, sumuporta ng 39 markers at 15 rebounds kabilang na ang game tying follow-up sa mintis ni Brownlee sa free throw line para itabla ang laro, 121-121, at humirit ng five-minute extension.
“I was so amazed with the win. But I’m not happy with our defense that allowed them (Mono Vampire) to score 130 points. We have to be much better on Wednesday,” ani Alapag.
Hangad ng Alab Pilipinas ang pang-apat na titulo ng bansa sa ABL kabilang na ang dalawa mula sa Philippine Patriots noong 2009 at 2010 at ang ikatlo ay sa San Miguel Beermen nina June Mar Fajardo at Asi Taulava noong 2013.
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