JAKARTA, Indonesia – The Philippine Patriots go for a sweep of the first-ever championship of the ASEAN Basketball League today against Indonesia’s Satria Muda BritAma here.
The opportunity to win the honor as the first champion team of the league looks big and enticing, after they took Game 1 (78-68) and Game 2 (72-53), but coach Louie Alas is not taking the mission easily.
Knowing the perils of playing before a hostile crowd, Alas is expecting nothing but a battle royale.
“It could be a bruising game,” said Alas.
No matter what the Indonesian club would do on the court, the Patriots, according to Alas, are all fired up for their 5 p.m. encounter.
“The hostile crowd is already a given factor,” said Alas. “Another thing is officiating. But if you think about it, nothing will happen to us here. Right now, we have a clear mindset. We have to focus on our game plan. If we allow ourselves to be distracted by those factors, then we have to stay here for few more days.”
Game 4 is scheduled on Wednesday also at the BritAma gym, and if necessary, Game 5 will be held on Sunday in Manila.
But don’t tell that to former PBA Best Import winner Gabe Freeman.
The 6-foot-5 Freeman, who sizzled for a tournament-high 39 points in Game 1, does not like the idea of staying here for three more days, saying: “I have to meet somebody in Manila, we have an important matter to discuss, so let’s go on and play hard on Sunday.”
If they can close the series today, it will give co-team owner Mikee Romero his eight straight championships, counting his record seven title run in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL)
“Winning the first championship is always sweet, so I hope we could bring home the crown,” Romero, who was expected to arrive here Saturday along with team manager Erick Arejola.
Business tycoon Tonyboy Cojuangco, Romero’s co-team owner, also challenged the Patriots to wage a war as if there’s no tomorrow since the country’s lofty status in the region is at stake in the series.
Just like Romero and Cojuangco, everybody in the team wants a piece of history.
“I decided to play for the Patriots because I want them to win the first championship of the league. If possible, I want to win it on Sunday,” said Freeman.
Again, Alas said defense holds the key to their success. Alas also expects that Indonesia’s import Alex Hartman and Nakiea Miller will attack the hoop at every opportunity in the hope of getting a foul from either Freeman or Jason Dixon.