Patriots rip Thai Tigers

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Patriots rode on a fiery second quarter run to dominate the Thailand Tigers, 74-61, in their first home game in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig yesterday.

The Patriots bucked a shaky start with a series of spurts in the second quarter with Rob Wainwright sparking the big run with back-to-back triples that set the tone for the rout before a capacity crowd.

With new recruit Nonoy Baclao making his presence felt in the shaded lane and Jerwin Gaco knocking down easy shots, the Patriots outscored the hapless Tigers in the second quarter, 24-4, for a commanding 42-22 lead at the turn.

The Tigers actually closed to within 48-53 in the third quarter but the hosts, behind Froilan Baguion and Gaco, countered with another scoring blitz to virtually take the fight out of the Thais.

Elmer Espiritu also made good impression with eight points, four blocks and three rebounds.

“Nonoy and Elmer did well today, I’m sure they will contribute more in our next game,” said Patriots coach Louie Alas.

Gaco topscored for the Patriots with 15 points as he made up for the poor start of 6-foot-10 import Jason Dixon.