Patriots repulse Slammers, gain solo ABL lead

BANGKOK, Thailand – The Philippine Patriots fought back from nine points down to turn back the Chang Thailand Slammers, 54-49, in a duel of unbeaten teams in the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) Season 2 Saturday night at the Nimbutr National Stadium here Saturday.

The Patriots toughened up on defense in the fourth quarter to stifle the hosts and snatch the victory, their fourth straight in the country-hopping tournament aimed at developing the sport in the Southeast Asian region.

American reinforcements Donald Little and Anthony Johnson stepped up in the final period and came through with 14 and 13 points, respectively, to key the Patriots’ big comeback.

“Our defense worked as planned but we just couldn’t convert our shots in the first three quarters,” said Patriots coach Louie Alas.

“Fortunately, we toughened up on defense in the fourth quarter and our shots finally fell,” said Alas.

Little played big as he barreled his way inside and scored on a couple of jams. He also pulled down seven rebounds, a game-high five blocks, three assists and a steal to the delight of the big weekend Filipino crowd.

Johnson, the former PBA import who missed the Patriots’ last two games due to a hamstring injury, struggled in the early goings while trying to recover his bearing but knocked down eight points in the final quarter to help clinch the victory.

He scored on a pair of lay-ups off two give-and-go plays with Little down the stretch that finally took the fight out of the Slammers, who led by as many as nine points in the first three quarters.

Egay Billiones chipped in 10 points, including a pair of transition baskets that sparked the Patriots’ comeback.

Thailand’s top gun Sopon Pinitpatcharalert fired 13 points, including three triples while American reinforcement Jason Dixon, a former RP import, groped for 10 points in the face of the Patriots’ pesky double-teaming defense.

Dixon scored 28 points and hauled down 18 rebounds in leading the Slammers to an 84-63 rout of the Satria Muda Britama of Indonesia last week.

The loss dropped the Slammers to 3-1.

The Slammers also missed African import Chris Kuete Lonichi, who hurt a leg in their previous victory over Satria Muda.

The Philippines led twice in the early going but reeled back as Thailand, led by Pinitpatcharalert, hit their outside shots to keep the initiative in the first three quarters.

Still down at 35-40 after the Slammers’ Filipino 6-9 import Fred Canlas scored on a putback early in the last period, the Patriots made a pair of runs, the first anchored on the lightning-quick backcourt tandem of Billiones and Warren Ybanez and the second behind the Little-Johnson combination.

“The difference is that we practically shut them down in the fourth and we’re the shots that we couldn’t in the early goings,” said Alas.