Harden, Rockets survive Wolves
Alapag says work not over
San Miguel Pale Pilsen Alab is safely in the ABL Finals but head coach Jimmy Alapag said yesterday while he’s proud of how the team overcame adversity throughout the season, the work isn’t over until the title is in the bag.
“I’m very proud of our guys, especially considering our struggles during the early part of the season,” said Alapag. “The coaching staff and I just continued to encourage our guys to keep working and to continue building on our team chemistry. To their credit, they’ve come in every day, ready to work and get better and it’s great to see them reap the rewards from all their efforts.”
At Sta. Rosa last Sunday, Alab downed defending champion Hong Kong Eastern, 7972, in Game 2 of their best-of-3 semifinal series to sweep the tie. Alab upset Hong Kong, 98-94, in Game 1 at the Southorn Stadium in Wan Chai last Wednesday. Either Mono Vampire of Thailand or Chong Son Kung Fu of China will battle Alab in the Finals.
Vampire beat Kung Fu, 103-94, in Nanhai in Game 1 of their semifinal series last Wednesday. Game 2 is set in Thailand tomorrow. Both teams are boosted by ASEAN heritage Fil-Am imports. Vampire’s Fil-Am is 6-foot Jason Brickman who led the US NCAA Division I in assists for two seasons with Long Island University while Kung Fu’s FilAms are Caelan Tiongson of Biola University and Mikh McKinney of Sacramento State. Vampire’s other heritage import is Filipino Paul Zamar, a former UE standout who was Barangay Ginebra’s fourth round pick in the 2012 PBA draft.
During the eliminations, Alab beat Vampire twice, 114-87 and 86-84 and split with Kung Fu, winning once, 94-91 in overtime and losing once, 92-79. “There are a lot of similarities with Kung Fu and Vampire when you look at their personnel,” said Alapag. “Kung Fu’s (world) imports are Justin Howard and Samuel Deguara while Vampire’s (world) imports are Anthony Tucker and Michael Singletary. Then, you’ve got McKinney for Kung Fu and Brickman for Vampire. Until we know whom we’re playing, we’ll just do our best to stay sharp then begin preparations for whichever team we’ll face in the Finals.”
Alab will take a break today and tomorrow then report back to practice from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at the City Club in Makati on Wednesday. Alab team manager Charlie Dy said after practice, the players and coaches will watch Game 2 between Vampire and Kung Fu via live streaming at 1 p.m.
Dy said both Vampire and Kung Fu are bannered by tough imports. The 6-10 Howard, 36, has played in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Syria, Germany, Spain, Finland, Thailand, Bahrain and Singapore while the 6-4 Tucker, 28, is a scorching scorer from the University of Iowa and Minnesota State University at Moorhead. Singletary, 29, saw action for Barako Bull in 2013 and San Miguel Beer in 2016 in the PBA. Deguara, 26, is a 7-5 behemoth who has played in Spain, Malaysia, Lithuania, Canada and Italy.
Alapag said beating Hong Kong was a feat but the work isn’t over. “We know the job isn’t done,” he said. “The goal is to win the championship and we’ll do our best to bring it back to the Philippines”
Defense was the key to Alab’s win over Hong Kong last Sunday. Alab held Eastern to less than 20 points in each of the first three quarters then left only two Hong Kong players to score in the fourth period. Hong Kong center Ryan Moss, 44, was blanked in the last quarter and heritage import Tyler Lamb, who had 32 points in Game 1, wound up with eight points on 2-of-11 field goals before fouling out with 9:06 left. Another factor was Alab’s bench as the shock troopers outscored the Hong Kong relievers, 12-4. Alapag drew a combined 43 points from world imports Justin Brownlee and Renaldo Balkman but locals Bobby Ray Parks, Pao Javelona, Chris Sumalinog, Dondon Hontiveros, Josh Urbiztondo and Jay-R Alabanza and Fil-Am Lawrence Domingo also contributed to the effort.
HOUSTON – Trailing by one in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Houston Rockets needed someone to step up.
No surprise that it was James Harden who came through.
Harden scored 44 points and powered a big fourth-quarter run that allowed the Rockets to outlast the Timberwolves 104-101 Sunday night in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series.
“We were struggling to make shots, struggling to really have any kind of rhythm and James put us on his back,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He’s been doing it for a while now.”
In Cleveland, Victor Oladipo scored 32 points and Indiana outplayed Cleveland from the start while pulling off a stunning 98-80 victory in the series opener, handing LeBron James and the Cavaliers’ their first loss in the opening round in eight years.
It also was the first playoff-opening loss for James, who came in 12-0 in Game 1s and didn’t realize he had been perfect starting the postseason.
“Is it?” James said. “I’ve never lost a game in the first round before in my career?
But while he knows the narrative before Wednesday’s Game 2 will be on the struggles of Cleveland’s playoff newcomers, James isn’t worried.
“I’m down 0-1 in the first round,” he said. “I was down 3-1 in the Finals. So, I’m the last guy to ask about how you’re going to feel the next couple days.”
The Pacers are feeling confident after beating the Cavs for the fourth time this season.
Indiana took control from the outset, opening a 21-point lead in the first quarter and pushing it to 23 in the third. The Cavs got within seven in the fourth, but Oladipo, once a role player who has blossomed into an All-Star in his first season with Indiana, hit a big 3-pointer and Bojan Bogdanovic helped put Cleveland away with a 3 to make it 88-71.
In Oklahoma City, Paul George scored 36 points to help the Thunder defeat the Utah Jazz, 116-108, in Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series.
George set an Oklahoma City playoff record with eight three-pointers, blowing past the previous record of five. He made 8-of-11 shots from long range, and 13-of-20 shots overall. It was his first playoff game with the Thunder since being acquired in a trade with the Indiana Pacers in the offseason.
Russell Westbrook had 29 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists and Carmelo Anthony added 15 points for the Thunder, who will host Game 2 on Wednesday.
In Boston, Al Horford had 24 points and 12 rebounds and Boston overcame Khris Middleton’s long 3 that beat the fourth-quarter buzzer, topping the Milwaukee Bucks, 113-107, in overtime to open the playoffs.
The Celtics led 99-96 with 0.5 seconds left in regulation when Middleton took an inbounds pass on the far right wing and hit a contested 35-footer. Boston outscored Milwaukee 14-8 in the extra period.
Terry Rozier added 23 points, four rebounds and three assists for Boston in his first career playoff start. Jaylen Brown finished with 20 points. Rookie Jayson Tatum added 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Rozier said he knows he’s under a spotlight this postseason with Kyrie Irving out for the season following his recent knee surgery.