Allab ssurrviivess Slliingerrss iin overrttiime
ALAB Pilipinas deployed a sturdy defense in overtime to escape the Singapore Slingers, 89-80 at the OCBC Arena in Singapore on Sunday. The win was the Philippines’ third straight in the Asean Basketball League (ABL) Season 8.
The Tanduay-backed squad held the host team to just two points while racking up 11 points of its own in the extension period en route to an improved 3-3 win-loss record.
Alab moved up to the fourth spot with its breakthrough victory on the road.
The Filipino ball club has also avenged its 83-97 home loss to the Singaporean side on November 29 last year.
World Import Renaldo Balkman continued to show his stellar play as the Puerto Rican big man sizzled with 26 points on top of eight rebounds while fellow reinforcement Justin Brownlee filled the stats sheet with 17 markers, eight assists and seven boards.
Current local Most Valuable Player Ray Parks chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds while Lawrence Domingo came off the bench to add eight markers.
Following Ng Hanbin’s four-point play that knotted the game at 75-all, Robby Celiz drained a booming corner triple off a Parks assist to push Alab ahead, 78-75, with 50 seconds remaining in regulation.
Fil-Canadian swingman AJ Mandani buried a trey from the right wing, sending the tightly contested match to extension play as Urbiztondo muffed a potential game-winning shot.
Alab then dropped a crucial 9-0 bomb courtesy of the Brownlee-Balkman duo. This was followed by Parks’ threepoint play that resulted in a commanding 87-78 lead. The Slingers was limited to just two points ensuring the PH’s win.
Debuting import Christien Charles led Singapore with a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds while Ng and Mandani contributed 15 and 13 markers respectively.
Xavier Alexander, who tallied a triple-double in the first meeting between the two teams, was held to just 10 points on a sour 2-of-19 shooting clip as the Slingers fell to the sixth spot with their second straight setback and an overall 3-5 slate. THE SCORES: BOX SCORES ALAB (89)– Balkman 26, Brownlee 17, Parks Jr. 11, Domingo 9, Urbiztondo 8, Raymundo 8, Celiz 3, Hontiveros 3, Sumalinog 2, Maierhofer 2, Alabanza 0. SLINGERS (80)– Charles 22, Ng 15, Mandani 13, Alexander 10, Low 10, Goh 9, Liew 1, Oh 0, Kwek 0. Quarterscores: 21-17; 36-36; 63-60; 78-78; 89-80 (OT)