Patriots try to get back at Dragons

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines and Malaysia begin their best-of-three semifinal series in the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League Season 2 on Sunday with the Patriots hoping to exact revenge at the Dragons at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

“It’s going to be a war,” said Mikee Romero, who co-owns the team with businessman Tony Boy Cojuangco. “It’s payback time for the Philippines.”

“They have beaten us twice and they have bullied us during our game in Kuala Lumpur, it’s time for the team to show how tough we are,” said Romero.

The Patriots’ 96-81 loss to the Dragons last October was marked by an ugly accident where guard Warren Ybanez was hit by a fan with a bottled mineral water, prompting game officials to stop the game for about five minutes.

“They don’t want us to become champion again and they really want to stop us at all costs,” said Romero.

The Patriots took Game 2, 73-71, in another physical game but the Dragons bounced back to win Game 3, dealing the Filipinos their worst defeat, 92-74.

The Patriots had a rollercoaster ride in the season but Romero believes the team had a good chance of beating the Dragons due to their homecourt advantage. Game 2 is scheduled on Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur, and if necessary, Game 3 will be back in Manila.

Phl coach Louis Alas also expressed confidence of a victory over the Dragons, saying his boys have regained their defensive toughness anchored on imports Gabe Freeman and Steve Thomas.

“We have to play tough defense for 40 minutes, if we can’t do that, then it’s going to be difficult beating the Dragons,” said Alas.