ABL: Dragons give Patriots a sound beating

The Kuala Lumpur Dragons dealt the defending champion Philippine Patriots their worst beating in Season 2 of the ASEAN Basketball League, 92-74, a loss that might have a tremendous psychological effect on the Filipinos' title retention bid. A dizzying 16-0 run spearheaded by import Justin Leith and Malaysian hotshot Rudy Lingganay enabled the Dragons to grab a 58-52 lead after falling behind by 10 points earlier. It silenced the predominantly Pinoy crowd at the Ynares Sports Arena. And with import Gabe Freeman fouling out with 5:26 remaining and the visitors way ahead, 88-69, the Patriots never recovered from. The Dragons were also responsible for the Patriots’ 15-point defeat (96-81) in Kuala Lumpur last November. The stinging loss was the second in a week’s span for the reigning champions. League-leader Chang Thailand Slammers (10-4) edged the Patriots in double overtime, 83-76, in Bangkok last Sunday. Their latest setback dropped the Patriots into a tie with the Dragons at 8-6. Both teams have a game left before the playoffs. The Patriots take on a dangerous Satria Muda BritAma side that is still in playoff contention (6-8) on Saturday in Jakarta, while the Dragons clash with the ousted Brunei Barracudas (3-11) over the weekend in Brunei. Egay Billones topscored for the Patriots with 23 points, while Warren Ybanez and Freeman had 12 each. The Patriots’ import added eight rebounds before fouling out for the second straight game. Despite outmuscling the visitors under the boards, 45-32, the Patriots had a paltry 31-percent shooting from the floor (24-of-78). The Filipinos were also outscored inside the shaded lane, 44-28. In contrast, the Dragons waxed hot from the field with a steady 55-percent shooting accuracy (35-of-64) and played more as a team by dishing off 19 assists to the Patriots’ nine. Leith had 17 of his game-high 29 points in the first half for the Dragons, who trailed, 42-52, before unleashing the decisive run. Nakiea Miller added 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Lingganay and Patrick Cabahug finished with 16 and 13, respectively. Steve Thomas was a monster off the boards with 19 rebounds, but only scored nine points for the Patriots. His only basket in the second half came at the 2:40 mark, with the outcome was already settled. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV