Patriots out to win crown vs Dragons

MANILA, Philippines - Redemption and tradition are on the menu of the AirAsia Philippine Patriots as they collide with the Kuala Lumpur Dragons in Game 1 of their best-of-three semis series in the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) Season 2 today at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

Looking great after ending a three-game losing streak on the road, the Phl Patriots, especially coach Louie Alas, are upbeat about exacting sweet revenge against the Dragons in the 4 p.m. game that will be beamed live on giant sports network ESPN.

“We have a great winning tradition to uphold so we’ll do everything to get back at them and keep our crown,” said Alas, himself feeling rejuvenated after seeing his boys trained and worked doubly hard for a projected “battle royale” with the Dragons.

During the past five days, Alas said they trained like they were marines, trying to cover all the bases to improve their transition defense, which he said will make or break their title bid.

“We really put strong emphasis on transition defense since this will make a difference in the series. But I’m happy with our practice, everybody cooperated and they now know their respective roles,” said Alas.

While the team boasts of a scoring machine in high-flying Gabe Freeman and a monster on the defensive end in Steve Thomas, Alas said they have to contain Kuala Lumpur imports Justin Leith and Nakiea Miller and the two Filipino reinforcements, former UAAP scoring champion Patrick Cabahug and wily guard Rudy Lingganay.

“Our battlecry is to put them out of their comfort zones,” said Alas.

Co-owners Mikee Romero and Tony Boy Cojuangco also challenged the Patriots to display the shooting touch they dished out early in the elims, their main weapon to a 5-0 start.

“They have to be at their best shooting form because the Dragons are no patsies, they are a good team,” said Romero, who sees another rugged and emotional series.

For the Patriots to win, Alas said his locals, especially Egay Billones, Benedict Fernandez, Junjun Cabatu and Warren Ybanez must step up big time to lessen the pressure from Freeman and Thomas.

The Dragons hold a 2-1 edge over the Patriots but the team clinched the homecourt advantage following their 77-74 overtime win over Indonesia’s Satria Muda BritAma.

The Patriots finished the three-round elims with a 9-6 record while the Dragons ended up with 8-7 – no thanks to the Brunei Barracudas who stunned them, 87-73.