MANILA – San Miguel-Alab Pilipinas kept its untarnished slate at home following an 88-76 win over the Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions in the 2018-2019 ASEAN Basketball League on Sunday night at the Sta. Rosa Multipurpose Complex in Laguna.
Renaldo Balkman led the way with 20 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, while Peter John Ramos added 18 markers, including four three-point conversions for the Alab (10-2).
Joshua Urbiztondo contributed 16 markers, including four treys, to go with four steals, three rebounds and three assists for the defending champions, which played without injured local Bobby Ray Parks Jr.
Holding to a slim 45-43 lead at the half, Alab went on a strong 17-2 scoring run in the third period behind Ramos, Urbiztondo and Balkman to break the game wide open at 62-45.
The Long Lions made a push and was able to come to as close as 12 markers but the Alab responded with timely conversions from Balkman to keep the visiting squad from coming even closer.
The match did not end up flawless for the Alab with Balkman and Ramos figured in heated confrontations with Long Lions’ 7-foot-4 reinforcement Samuel Deguara.
Marcus Elliott finished with 21 points, four rebounds, and two assists, while O’Darien Bassett added 14 points, seven dimes, and six boards for the Long Lions, which dropped to 9-8./PN
