Defending ABL champs Patriots fail to impress coach

The Philippine Patriots started their title retention bid on a wining note after dumping the Brunei Barracudas, 71-62, Sunday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. But the win failed to impress Patriots coach Louie Alas. “We can do a lot better if we’ll play several notches higher defensively," said Alas. “If we play that way in our next game, we might lose the game." Offensively, the Patriots have no problem with Johnson scoring a game-high 24 points while the locals, led by Chito Jaime, Allen Malicsi, Jun Jun Cabahug and Erwin Sta. Maria, also providing ample support. But the Filipinos will have a tougher task at hand in their next game – against the Singapore Slingers – on Saturday also at the Ynares Arena. “Our game against the Slingers will be an acid test for us," said team manager Erick Arejola. “Their locals have improved tremendously and they have good imports, too." The Slingers opened the season with an impressive 94-93 win over last year’s runner-up Satria Muda BritAma of Indonesia. Thailand Slammers also created a stir by downing the Kuala Lumpur Dragons in overtime, 79-74. “Good thing we were paired against the Barracudas in our first game." said Alas. “What we have to do now is to work on our defensive alignment." - RCJ, GMANews.TV