Patriots aim to win ABL crown on the road

The Philippine Patriots hope to bring out the broom against Satria Muda BritAma in Sunday’s Game 3 of the ASEAN Basketball League Finals at the BritAma Arena in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Patriots are hoping to focus on the tough task of closing out the short best-of-five title series in enemy territory and emerge as the first champion of the regional basketball league. "Right now, we have a clear mindset. We have to focus on our game plan. If we allow ourselves to be distracted, then we have to stay here for few more days," said Patriots coach Louie Alas. The Patriots hold a commanding 2-0 lead in the title series after winning the first two games at home, 78-68 and 72-53. But Alas said that the situation is different this time since they will be playing at Satria Muda’s home court. "I expect it to be bruising and there may be problems with officiating. But we just have to focus and be consistent at both ends of the floor," added Alas. Satria Muda BritAma's coach Fictor Roring believes his team can bounce back in the series. "We have confidence when we play at home. But the key for us is for our imports to play well. For me, the team's chances of winning in the ABL depend on the imports and if they don't play well, we really will have problems against the Patriots," said Roring. Game 4 if necessary will also be played in Indonesia this Wednesday while the deciding Game 5 if needed will be back in Manila on Feb. 28. Nakiea Miller, who erupted with 22 points in Game 1, was limited to 11 behind a 5-of-21 shooting in the Indons’ Game 2 loss while fellow import Alex Hartman was held to a combined 12 markers. "We're not yet out of it. We play good at home, we shoot better, we defend better and we play with confidence at home. We just have to take it one game at a time to make it a series. They will not just go in there and just win the title easily," said the 6-foot-9 Miller. Patriots reinforcements Jason Dixon and Gabe Freeman are again expected to carry much of the scoring load for the team. "I decided to play for the Patriots because I want them to win the first championship of the league. If possible, I want to win on Sunday," said Freeman, who has steered the team to five straight wins since replacing Brandon Powell. Aside from the imports, the locals must also do their share the same way Rob Wainright showed in Game 2. – GMANews.TV