Patriots seek No. 1 against host Slingers

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Patriots zero in on the No. 1 seeding in the Final Four as they seek a repeat win over the Singapore Slingers at resumption of action in the first Asean Basketball League (ABL) at the Singapore Indoor Stadium today.

Showing the way for the six-team field with a 9-2 (win-loss) card, the Patriots take on the Slingers at 8 p.m. with the former raring to duplicate their 70-53 romp over the hosts the last time they met.

The RP Patriots’ game against the Slingers serves as the first of their two road games in four days. From Singapore, the Patriots, co-owned by Dr. Mikee Romero of Harbour Centre and Tony Boy Cojuangco, will fly to Kuala Lumpur to battle the Dragons on Friday.

Actually, the Patriots will be playing three of their last four games on the road as they tangle with the Thailand Tigers at Nimibutr National Stadium on Jan. 17 before closing out their elimination round campaign against the Brunei Barracudas on Jan. 24 back at home at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

The Patriots need to win three of their last four games to secure the No. 1 spot and the homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.

“It will be a tough week ahead of us but the team is prepared and ready for the challenge,” said coach Louie Alas.

The Patriots, who left for Singapore yesterday, is coming off back-to-back victories over the KL Dragons, 76-70, and Brunei Barracudas, 70-56, to cap their sterling campaign in 2009.

“I commend the players’ attitude and sacrifices just to be in their tip-top shape in time for our coming games. This just goes to show how determined our team is in its drive to succeed in this league,” said team manager Erick Arejola.

This marks the third time the Patriots and the Slingers will slug it out with the latter winning their first encounter, 74-69.

The Slingers hold a 6-4 record but they need to beat the Patriots to boost their bid to finish in the top 3 after the elims.

“My main concern now is the energy level of the team since we are coming off a break. We have to match the intensity of the Slingers especially on defense because we need to contain their output,” said Alas.

Jason Dixon is averaging 14.6 point and 13.6 rebounds after posting double-double performances in the team’s last seven games. The other players to watch for the Patriots are Brandon Powell, Nonoy Baclao, Warren Ybanez, JP Alcaraz and Rob Wainwright.

The Slingers, on the other hand, will rely on American imports Michael LeBlanc and Kyle Jefers and Filipino import Al Vergara.