ABL: Slammers shrink in the third, Patriots keep league lead

The AirAsia Patriots needed a huge 30-13 third quarter to rally from an early Chang Thailand Slammers lead, gutting out an 81-72 victory to stay in first place, Saturday at the Thai Japanese Association Gym. Seven first quarter turnovers by the Patriots allowed the Slammers to seize the advantage early, as they built an 11-point lead on the backs of Kenneth Walker and Deandre Thomas, 29-18. Baskets by Walker and Boyet Bautista then extended the lead twice to 13, at the 9:19 mark and again at 8:13 in the second period, but the Slammers' offense ground to a halt, scoring just one point in three and a half minutes of play. An unsportsmanlike foul by Walker then made things worse, adding three points to what became an 11-1 run by the Philippines, 36-34, 3:22 left before the break. Luckily, Thailand was able to pad their lead back up to six, courtesy of conversions by Thomas and Bautista, 40-34. During halftime, whatever adjustments made by Patriots head coach Glenn Capacio seemed to have done the trick, as the Philippines came out on fire, scoring 30 in the period, nine coming from Anthony Johnson, while holding Thailand to just 13. Up 11 with a quarter to go, 64-53, it was now the Patriots' turn to get chased, as a 13-4 Slammers run nearly undid all of the Philippines' work, five coming after an Angelus Raymundo unsportsmanlike foul gave Thailand the opportunity to score five points on a single possession. Then Deandre Thomas connected to make it 68-66 with half the period remaining.   With the game on the line, the duo of Nakiea Miller and Al Vergara then closed things out for the Patriots, as they each scored five straight points. That helped the Philippines pull ahead. In contrast, Thailand managed just four points after the Thomas score, dooming them. Johnson top-scored for the Patriots with 21 points, along with nine rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block. Nakiea Miller added 14, while locals Jonathan Fernandez and Al Vergara had 12 each. Deandre Thomas led both sides with 23 markers, while fellow import Kenneth Walker added 17 points and 11 rebounds. Chester Tolomia also hit double figures with 10 points and five dimes. The Slammers lost despite an 38-20 points in the paint advantage, due in part to the Patriots converting 10 of their 26 outside shots. The victory allowed the Patriots to improve to 6-1, remaining the only team in the league with just a single loss. The Slammers on the other hand dropped to 3-5. - Adrian Dy/KBK, GMA News The scores: RP (81) - Johnson 21, Miller 14, Vergara 12, Fernandez 12, Ybanez 8, Ramos 6, Rodriguez 4, Saldua 2, Raymundo 2, Wainwright 0, Laure 0, Juntilla 0 THAILAND (72) - Thomas 23, Walker 17, Tolomia 10, Bautista 7, Jantuma 7, Lertmalaiporn 5, Pinitpatcharalert 2, Sangthong 1, Ghogar 0, Apiromvilaichai 0 Quarter-scoring: 18-29, 34-40, 64-53, 81-72