MANILA – San Miguel-Alab Pilipinas vented its ire on Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions to score an 87-75 win in the 2018-2019 ASEAN Basketball League on Friday night at the Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex in Laguna.
Puerto Rican import Peter John Ramos led the way with double-double 31 points and 12 rebounds for the defending champions Alab, which remained on top with 6-1 win-loss slate.
Not only did the 7-foot-3 Ramos had his best game in the tournament, but he also dominated his counterpart in Long Lions in 7-foot-5 Sam Deguara, who was held to just 14 points.
“It’d be hard to find someone his size with his skill. His ability to post, to shoot from three, you can’t foul him, and he’s just a great teammate,” Alab head coach Jimmy Alapag said on Ramos.
Bobby Ray Parks Jr. finally caught fire offensively to finish with 24 markers, while Lorenzo Domingo and Renaldo Balkman combined for 18 markers for the Philippine squad.
Raring to bounce back from their heartbreaking 71-72 loss to Westport Malaysian Dragons on Wednesday, Alab surged to a 42-26 lead in the opening half, mostly on inside shots by Ramos after Deguara was tagged with three early fouls.
The Philippine squad continued its domination in the second half but the Long Lions attempted to come back but could only come to as close as 70-79 before Alab pulled away anew at 87-72 on baskets from Ramos and Ethan Alvano.
Marcus Elliot finished with 20 points and five rebounds, while O’Darien Bassett added 19 markers for the Long Lions, which dropped to 7-5 win-loss card after the defeat./PN
