RP Patriots down Thais in first home game

The Philippine Patriots made good use of its first home game in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) late Sunday night, cruising to a 74-61 win against the Thailand Tigers at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. Egged-on by the hometown crowd, the slow-starting Patriots used several scoring spurts to turn a tight first quarter into a rout with Rob Wainwright leading the offensive onslaught.

Wainwright opened up that 24-4 scoring exchange with back-to-back triples as the Patriots took a commanding 42-22 halftime spread. New recruit Nonoy Baclao, fresh from helping the Ateneo Blue Eagles win their second straight UAAP crown, backed up Wainwright patrolling the shaded lane forcing the Tigers to either change their shots or pass the ball. Jerwin Gaco and crafty playmakers Froilan Baguion and Warren Ybañez also did their share. Gaco scored easy baskets thanks to the timely set up of Baguion and Ybañez. But the Thais won’t go down without a fight and managed to cut the deficit to five, 53-48. That, however, proved to be the Tigers’ final roar as Baguion and Gaco teamed up once again to lead another attack that finally silenced the visiting squad. Baclao and Elmer Espiritu, another new recruit, also contributed significant numbers combining for 15 points, eight rebounds and nine block shots. Baclao and Espiritu’s performances earned good marks from coach Louie Alas, who finally joined the team after finishing his coaching chores with the Letran Knights in the NCAA. “Nonoy and Elmer did well today, I’m sure they will contribute more in our next game." Gaco paced the home team with 15 points carrying much of the scoring load for the Patriots after 6-foot-10 import Jason Dixon had an off-night. “We started flat but we managed to recover late in the first quarter and that proved to be the key. Our defense also clicked just at the right and Baclao and Espiritu played big roles. They’re really tough," said Alas. Axel Doruelo – one of two Filipino imports of Thailand – paced the Tigers with 15 points. The other Filipino Ricky Ricafuente was held to just eight points after exploding for 23 in a 78-75 loss to Indonesia’s Satria Muda BritAma. – GMANews.TV