Patriots seek No. 1 spot vs Barracudas

MANILA, Philippines - Fully rested, former PBA Best Import winner Gabe Freeman is expected to provide more fireworks as the Philippine Patriots shoot for the No. 1 spot in the Final 4 against the Brunei Barracudas today in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

The 6-foot-6 Freeman debuted with 21 points and 14 boards in the team’s 91-87 victory over the Thailand Tigers Sunday in Bangkok, improving the Patriots’ record to 10-4.

He did that with little sleep and without the benefit of a practice since he arrived in the country late Friday, a day before the team left for Bangkok.

“I didn’t have a good sleep for three days before we played the Tigers, but I’m now fully settled and ready to play my real game,” said Freeman, who turned over the ball six times.

The Patriots and the Barracudas clash at 4 p.m. with the team co-owned by Harbour Centre president and CEO Mikee Romero and Tonyboy Cojuangco determined to finish the triple-round elims at No. 1.

A victory by the Patriots will give them the home court advantage throughout the playoffs, semis (best-of-three) and finals (best-of-five).

The 6-foot-6 Freeman, who replaced Brandon Powell, scored the game’s first five points, including a booming triple, then buried two more triples in the last two minutes to help the team repel Thailand’s repeated rallies.

“Now that’s he has practiced for five days with the team, we expect him to deliver more,” said Romero. “He’s not only a prolific scorer but also a proven leader.”

Freeman starred for San Miguel Beer’s title victory over Ginebra in last year’s PBA Fiesta Cup.

Coach Louie Alas, however, challenged his locals to step up and not to depend much on Freeman and Jason Dixon.

“The locals should also contribute, they have to help Freeman and Dixon,” said Alas, who was elated with the shooting of Rob Wainwright and Val Acuna the last time.

Elmer Espiritu, Nonoy Baclao, JP Alcaraz and Jerwin Gaco also hope to sustain the momentum of their inspiring performance especially on the defensive end.

The 6-foot-10 Dixon, however, will be a busy man in the shaded lane with the arrival of Brunei’s new import.

The Barracudas, mentored by Bong Ramos, will have a new import in Australian Simon Conn, who replaced Michael Pilgrim.

Brunei is currently tied with the KL Dragons for fourth with identical 6-8 records with both teams needing to win their last assignments to advance to the semis. The Dragons are playing against Satria Muda BritAma at press time in Jakarta.

According to ESPN.com, Conn is listed at 6-foot-9 and weigh-in at 250 lbs and played four years for the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs in the US NCAA from 2002-2006 averaging 10.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 114 games.

He also played in Poland, Holland and the Melbourne South Dragons of the National Basketball League in Australia.

Pilgrim was instrumental in the Barracudas’ impressive 95-70 win over the Patriots last month.

Dixon is norming 15.4 points and 10.7 rebounds this season.