Indons earn right to face RP Patriots in ABL finals

Source: GMANews.TV

Satria Muda BritAma of Indonesia earned the right to play the Philippine Patriots in the finals of the 1st ASEAN Basketball League after shocking highly-favored Singapore Slingers, 86-76, in Sunday’s Game 3 of their semifinal showdown at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Nakiea Miller scored 11 of his 24 points in the final period as visiting Satria Muda BritAma outscored the Slingers, 24-14, in the last 10 minutes to complete a 2-1 series win.

The Indonesian team will play the top team Patriots in the best-of-five championship series with the Filipinos enjoying homecourt advantage. The first two games will be played on February 12 and 17 at the Patriots’ turf.

“I was really expecting the Indonesian team to win because their play is similar to how the Filipinos play, having gotten the services of top Filipino coaches like David Zamar and Bong Ramos," said Patriots coach Louie Alas.

The Patriots are on an extended break after sweeping the Kuala Lumpur Dragons in the semis but the team has been regularly practicing, anticipating a tough match with the Indonesian team.

“They are big and strong and can run like us. I really expect a tough outing against them," said Alas.

Do-it-all import Alexander Hartman exploded with 30 big points for Satria Muda BritAma, doing the most damage in the first half in which the visiting team erected a 47-42 advantage.

The Slingers, the number two team in the league, made their move in the third period and raced to a 58-50 advantage behind the efforts of Kyle Jeffers, Michael LeBlanc and Marcus Ng.

They (Satria Muda BritAma) are big and strong and can run like us. I really expect a tough outing against them.
– Louie Alas, Patriots coach
But that only served as added motivation for Satria Muda BritAma as Miller teamed up with Rony Gunawon in a 12-4 run to tie the count at 62-all entering the fourth period.

Amin Prihantono and Mario Wuysang added 13 and 12 points for the Indons, who shot a respectable 48 percent from the field (28 out of 58) including a 12-of-24 shooting from the three point line.

In contrast, the Slingers shot a miserable 30% (30-of-76) with imports Jeffers (19 points) and LeBlanc (15), combining for a horrible 13-of-34 shooting.

Filipino import Al Vergara also had a miserable night, finishing with six points on 4-of-13 shooting to go with only one assist in 30 minutes of action.

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