Patriots slay Malaysia Dragons, keep lead

MANILA, Philippines - Import Anthony Johnson came out of a one-game ban to fire 34 points, including clutch baskets, as the AirAsia Philippine Patriots rallied to beat the Westports Malaysia Dragons, 90-87, and keep the solo lead in the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League at the MABA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia yesterday.

Johnson, one of the Patriots sacked for figuring in a brawl against the San Miguel Beermen two weeks ago, took charge in the fourth, anchoring the Patriots’ fightback from a 16-point deficit for the victory that kept them on top of the heap at 10-2.

It also completed the inaugural champions’ sweep of their three-game road trip in Indonesia and Vietnam.

Bogs Raymundo added 12 points and hauled down six rebounds while providing the hustle and extra energy at crunch time for the Patriots.

“I’m proud of the boys. Despite falling behind by a big margin (16 points), they didn’t give up and did all their best to come back,” said coach Glenn Capacio in Filipino.

Johnson had his second 30-point game of the season after finishing with a 12-of-22 shooting.

His triple at the end of the third period trimmed the hosts’ lead to 64-71 then kept hitting shots and making slam dunks to shove the Patriots to a 76-74 lead with 5:36 left in the contest.