Johnson to boost Patriots bid

MANILA, Philippines - Import Anthony Johnson returns to action after a two-game absence as he leads the Philippine Patriots against the Chang Thailand Slammers on Saturday in a duel of unbeaten teams in the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) Season 2 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Johnson, however, will be far from his top form since he just recovered from a hamstring injury he sustained during their first game against the Brunei Barracudas where he scored 24 points.

“But knowing Anthony, he will do everything to help the team,” said team manager Erick Arejola. “The team badly needs his services since we will be up against a tough team.”

The Patriots, who beat Indonesia’s Satria Muda BritAma to claim last year’s crown, and the Slammers tote identical 3-0 slates.

The match also marks the first time that the Patriots will be going up against former import Jason Dixon.

The 6-foot-10 Dixon has turned in a string of double-double performances to power the Slammers to the early going of the tournament.

“We really have to work hard defensively especially in the shaded lane. Dixon will be difficult to stop but we will try our best to limit his production,” said Patriots coach Louie Alas.

Without Johnson, the Patriots, co-owned by Mikee Romero of Harbour Centre and Tony Boy Cojuangco, leaned on the likes of Junjun Cabatu, Egay Billones, Jonathan Fernandez and import Donald Little to hold off the Singapore Slingers and the Barracudas.