Nat'l Patriots eye redemption vs Indonesians

MANILA, Philippines - The AirAsia Philippines Patriots try to rebound from a stinging setback last week as they host the Indonesia Warriors at resumption of action in the third AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League at the San Juan gym today.

“We need to have a good start, and to do that, we have to be aggressive and shoot the ball well,” said Patriots coach Glenn Capacio whose wards dropped a 70-78 setback to the San Miguel Beermen in a clash of the fancied Philippine teams in the league.

Gametime is at 4 p.m. with the Patriots expecting a tough challenge from the Warriors.

Capacio said imports Nakiea Miller and Anthony Johnson must hold their own against former import 6-foot-10 Steve Thomas, a consistent double-double performance who steered the Patriots to the championship in 2010 and to a runner-up finish last year.

“We have to rotate the ball well and find an open man or go hard to the basket,” said Capacio.

Focus will also be on former UAAP star Aldrech Ramos, Al Vergara, Ardy Larong, Warren Ybanes, Eddie Laure and Reed Juntilla.

Aside from Thomas, the Patriots, owned by sportsmen Tony Boy Cojuangco and Mikee Romero, will also have to watch out for the Warriors’ other American import Jonathan Smith, former Adamson guard Jerick Canada and last year’s MVP Mario Wuysang.

Like the Patriots, the Warriors are also coming off an 80-93 defeat to the Westports Malaysia Dragons, a team bannered by former PBA players Nick Belasco, Patrick Cabahug and Chris Pacana and mentored by Ariel Vanguardia.