ABL: Indonesia Warriors oust Philippine Patriots, advance to Finals

The AirAsia Philippine Patriots came out flat and were clobbered again by the Indonesian Warriors, 72-51, dropping their semifinal series Sunday in the ASEAN Basketball League, at the BritAma Arena in Jakarta. Import Steve Thomas once again provided the lethal blows against his former team, finishing with 19 points and 15 rebounds, as the Warriors completed a stunning sweep of their best-of-three series. It will be the first time in the three-year history of the league that the Patriots will not play in the finals, no thanks to their awful shooting early. A sluggish first half that saw them miss 1-of-17 triples sealed the Patriots' doom and Indonesia, led by Thomas, Evan Brock and the backcourt duo of Mario Wuysang and Stanley Pringle, capitalized on the situation, grabbing a 32-19 lead at the half. The Patriots tried to rally early in the third behind Kiko Adriano, but import Nakiea Miller committed his fourth foul and Anthony Johnson played way below his usual form because of an ankle injury he suffered in Game 1. That left little room for the Filipinos to mount a comeback and the Warriors got to celebrate their second ABL final in franchise history. Miller had 12 points and nine rebounds while Johnson was held to 11 markers. Adding insult to injury for Johnson was the fact that he re-injured his ankle when the game was already decided. Adriano scored six points while Al Vergara added five points, five rebounds and three assists in a losing effort. - JVP / AMD, GMA News The scores: Indonesia 72 - Thomas 19, Brock 16, Wuysang 8, Pringle 8, Gunawan 7, Salangsang 6, Canada 3, Prihantono 3, Wisnu 2, Wibawa 0, Risanto 0 Philippines 51 - Miller 12, Johnson 11, Adriano 6, Vergara 5, Laure 4, Raymundo 3, Wainwright 3, Ramos 2, Arellano 2, Fernandez 2, Ybanez 2, Rodriguez 0 Quarter scoring: 16-13, 32-19, 49-36, 72-51