Phl Patriots cede ABL title to Thais

MANILA, Philippines -  The AirAsia Philippine Patriots wavered in the crunch, squandering a 14-point lead and losing the crown to the Chang Thailand Slammers in the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League Season 2 before a disappointed weekend crowd at the Philsports Arena in Pasig last night.

The Slammers, boosted by Filipino recruits, drubbed the Patriots, 75-68, for the 2010-11 ABL championship.

Filipinos Froilan Baguion and Ardy Larong gave the Thais tremendous lift as they combined for 34 points, including clutch baskets helping Chang Thailand complete a two-game sweep of the Patriots in their best-of-three finals.

Cameroonian import Chris Kuete also played a big role in scoring nine of his 12 points in the fourth quarter.

“We knew if we could keep it close we’ll have a chance to steal the game, and we did,” said the winning coach Raha Mortel, who’s also a Filipino from Balic Balic, Sampaloc. He’s based in Thailand for over two decades now.