Brunei Barracudas stun RP Patriots in ABL

The Brunei Barracudas banked on a second-half surge to stun league-leading Philippine Patriots, 95-70, in the ASEAN Basketball League Sunday at the Brunei Indoor Stadium. American imports Michael Pilgrim and Reggie Larry pumped in 20 points apiece as the Barracudas halted the Patriots' six-game winning streak.

Filipino reinforcements Don Camaso, Leo Avenido and Kiko Adriano also came out firing to help give the Barracudas a whopping 23-point lead, 89-66, heading into the final two minutes. The Patriots, who remained on top of the team standings at 7-2, missed the services of key defensive players Nonoy Baclao and Elmer Espiritu. Baclao skipped the game to suit up for the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the Philippine Collegiate Champions League finals last Sunday, while Espiritu is still nursing a broken cheek bone. "We missed their defensive intensity," said Patriots coach Louie Alas. "We played very lousy. We never gave up this too many points." Pinoy connection delivers The Barracudas, mentored by Filipino Bong Ramos, rolled to their second straight victory to share fourth place with the Kuala Lumpur Dragons at 4-5. Camaso finished with 18 points, including back-to-back triples in an 11-4 run at the start of the fourth that gave the Barracudas a 78-63 advantage with five minutes remaining. Avenido similarly buried 18 markers, while Kiko Adriano chipped in 13 points for the Barracudas. "Luckily we showed our shooting ability today," said Ramos. "I think we're improving. This is the first time we won back-to-back. There was an improvement in our defense and also in our shooting. Everyday in training, I really make sure that we practice our shooting." Larry, who also delivered eight rebounds, six assists and three steals, shot seven points in a 14-0 run at the start of the second half to give the Barracudas their first double-digit lead at 57-47. The scoring binge continued with Esmond Tan and Camaso opening the fourth period with three straight triples for a 76-63 gap. "I told my players that if they have the patience to follow our game plan, we have a good chance to get a victory, and that's what happened," said Ramos. "Maybe the Patriots were also quite overconfident. But I give credit to our guys. They executed the game plan and they really wanted to win." The Patriots will try to recover from their worst beating with back-to-back homecourt games against the Dragons on Saturday and the Barracudas again on Dec. 21. - GMANews.TV