RP Patriots outgun Brunei Barracudas

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Patriots bucked a slow start with a strong finish as they rolled to a 71-62 victory over the Brunei Barracudas in the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig yesterday.

The Patriots nearly squandered a 12-point lead as the Barracudas hit their mark at the onset of the fourth quarter. But former University of Santo Tomas standout Allen Maliksi took over and made the clutch baskets, including a three-point player to ward off the Barracudas.

The win gave the defending champion Patriots an early share of the lead with the Thailand Slammers and the Singapore Slingers, who hurdled their respective opening day assignments last Saturday in Thailand.

The Slammers, behind reinforcements Chris Kuete and former Patriots import Jason Dixon, defeated the KL Dragons, 79-74, in overtime while the Slingers edged last year’s runner-up Satria Muda BritAma of Indonesia, 94-93.

“We we’re very sluggish defensively. We were up by 12 points (43-31 in the third quarter) and suddenly it became a one-point lead,” said Patriots coach Louie Alas. “We still don’t have the desire to play defense.”

Anthony Johnson turned in a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds while dishing out three assists in 36 minutes of action for the Patriots.

His partner, 6-foot-11 center Donald Little, finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and two shot blocks.

Chris Garnett led the Barracudas with 23 points and nine rebounds.

The Patriots take on the Singapore Slingers on Saturday, also at Ynares.

Ex-pro Junjun Cabatu made all his nine points in the first quarter as he helped the Patriots overcome a poor start to grab a 21-20 edge.

Erwin Sta Maria had nine points and three rebounds while Warren Ybanez finished with three points, five rebounds and six assists. Chito Jaime had three points and six rebounds.

Chris Commons had 15 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and three steals, ex-Letran Knight Bryan Faundo made 11 points and 13 boards and guard Kevin White chipped in 10 points for the Barracudas.