RP Patriots clinch ABL crown

JAKARTA, Indonesia – The Philippine Patriots found a one-man wrecking crew in Jason Dixon as they overpowered Indonesia’s Satria Muda BritAma, 75-67, in a bruising game to win the crown in the first ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) with a three-game sweep yesterday at the BritAma Arena here.

With former PBA import Gabe Freeman off-target, Dixon provided the firepower inside with 28 points to help the Patriots pull away from a tight and bruising encounter and capture the inaugural championship of the first regional basketball tournament.

Dixon provided the impetus for a breakaway in the second quarter as the Patriots grabbed the lead, 35-31, at halftime after putting up a long, furious chase in the first 15 minutes of the game.

He also had 12 rebounds for his 15th double-double performance while Freeman had 17 markers and 19 boards.

With the win, the Patriots, co-owned by Harbour Centre Mikee Romero and businessman Tonyboy Cojuangco, completed a grand sweep of their best-of-five championship which started in Manila.

They took Game 1, 78-68, and Game 2, 72-53.

Again, Patriots coach Louie Alas paid tribute to their defense for the win, saying: “The whole season we really emphasized on defense, especially this series.”

Despite the jeers and taunts of the Indonesian crowd, the Patriots refused to be intimidated, and in fact, they were the ones who played aggressively and passionately, especially on the defensive end.

“I told the boys to play as if we’re in the jungle and they responded well,” said Alas, who also personally ended his title drought.

The last time Alas savored the sweet taste of winning a championship was back in the 2005 when he steered the Letran Knights to victory.

“It’s nice to win a championship again,” said Alas.

Alas’ joy was shared by Romero although the amiable owner is no stranger to winning, having won a record seven straight championships in the PBL.

“It’s a difficult win but it’s a great feeling. I want also to salute the Indons for giving us a good fight the whole time,” said Romero, who arrived here to support the team along with wife Sheila and daughter.

Also shining for the Patriots were Warren Ybanez, Jerwin Gaco, Christian Coronel, defensive specialists Nonoy Baclao and Elmer Espiritu and Rob Wainwright.

The Patriots took a 13-point lead in the third quarter and padded it to 68-52 early in the fourth quarter when Coronel completed a steal and Freeman scored on an inside play.

But the Indons fought back mightily with Rony Gunawan burying two triples in a vicious 10-2 blast enabled them to cut the Patriots lead down to eight points, 62-70.

But a three-point play by Dixon eased the tension that started to build for the RP Patriots camp.

A triple by Nakeai Miller pushed the Indons to within 65-73 but it proved to be their last hurrah as Gaco, who was earlier slapped a technical foul after planting en elbow to the eyes of Gunawan, sealed the deal with a side jumper barely 48 ticks left.

The scores:

Philippines 75 – Dixon 28, Freeman 17, Wainwright 9, Gaco 9, Ybañez 7, Sta. Maria 3, Coronel 2, Alcaraz 0, Acuña 0, Espiritu 0, Baclao 0, Mirza 0.

Indonesia 67 – Gunawan R. 20, Hartman 14, Miller 13, Prihantono 9, Sondakh 8, Wuysang 2, Wijaya 1, Achmad 0, Gunawan G. 0, Siregar 0, Situmorang 0, Arifin 0.  

Quarterscores: 13-17, 35-31, 64-52, 75-67