San Miguel Pale Pilsen Alab head coach Jimmy Alapag isn’t taking any chances in Game 2 of the ABL best-of-3 semifinal series against the defending champion Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions at the Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex in Laguna tonight. A loss will mean bringing the duel back to the Lions’ homecourt for the decider on Friday and Alapag would rather close it out in Sta. Rosa.
A sweep is what Alapag has in mind. “That’s the plan,” he said shortly after Alab drew first blood in shocking the Lions, 98-94, at the Southorn Stadium in Wan Chai last Wednesday. It was Alab’s first win over Hong Kong after two early losses in the eliminations this season. But the defeats weren’t decisive and besides, Alab still had world imports Ivan Johnson and Reggie Okosa in harness. The first was a 92-89 setback at the MOA Arena and the second was a 99-96 loss at the Southorn Stadium. Those games were two of the first four that Alab played this season and after posting a 1-3 record, Johnson and Okosa were given pink slips for replacements Justin Brownlee and Renaldo Balkman to check in.
Since their arrival, Brownlee and Balkman have averaged a combined 44.5 points and 19.5 rebounds to lead Alab to a 16-3 record. Balkman shot 46 points on 18-of-27 field goals and 10-of-12 free throws while Brownlee compiled a near triple double with 16 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists in the Game 1 win over Hong Kong.
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Alapag said it’s been a topsy-turvy campaign for Alab, surviving a poor start and a midstream change in sponsors from Tanduay to San Miguel. Tanduay pulled out its sponsorship after Alab went 7-4 and San Miguel took over last February. Another blow was frontliner Rico Maierhofer suffering an MCL injury in the right knee to knock him out of the playoffs. It may take at least two more weeks for Maierhofer to recover but by then, the playoffs will be over.
Near the end of the eliminations, Alab lost back-to-back games to the Westports Malaysia Dragons and Chong Son Kung Fu of China, fueling doubts on whether the team will go far in the playoffs. But Alapag closed out the eliminations on a high note with three straight wins. Now, Alab has won its last six and is only a victory away from advancing to the Finals against either Mono Vampire of Thailand or Chong Son.
For sure, the Lions will come out all fired up to even the series tonight. Hong Kong head coach Edu Torres missed Game 1 last Wednesday to attend to a family emergency in Barcelona. Torres left for home last Sunday and was expected back in Hong Kong last Friday. In his place, assistant coach Fernando Gordo called the shots in the loss to Alab. Gordo was clearly distraught after the Lions frittered away their homecourt advantage. To his credit, he didn’t make excuses for the setback. But to his discredit, Gordo refused clearance to interview ASEAN heritage import Christian Standhardinger in the lockerroom even though he had finished talking to the players and was on his way out. Gordo also took a jab at Torres, saying “I’m Spanish but he’s Catalan.”
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In Game 1, Balkman completely dominated Hong Kong counterpart Ryan Moss, a former Bahamas national player who happens to be 44 years old. Moss averaged 10.7 points and 9.2 rebounds in the eliminations but delivered only five points in the series opener before fouling out. The 6-7 Moss played two years with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock varsity then worked as an import in Belgium, France, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and finally, Hong Kong. He played seven years in Mexico.
Moss, however, isn’t expected to produce a bundle of points for the Lions. That job belongs to the other world import 6-3 Marcus Elliott of Louisiana Tech. Elliott, who’s 33 like Balkman, has played in Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela, Mexico and Argentina. A certified deadshot, Elliott hit 22 points in Game 1, including Hong Kong’s first 10 points in the fourth period. Another Hong Kong bomber is Thai-American Tyler Lamb, the former UCLA and Long Beach State guard who played for Thailand at the Southeast Asian Games last year. Lamb, 26, sizzled for 32 points against Alab last Wednesday and went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Hong Kong will rely on the 6-8 Standhardinger for both offense and defense. He probably won’t be Balkman’s primary defender because the Fil-German is too valuable on offense and it’ll be more than a handful to stop the Alab star. Filipino fans revere Standhardinger so at least, the hometown crowd won’t be hostile to the Gilas standout.