Game Friday
(Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)
7:30 p.m. – Saigon vs Alab Pilipinas
The struggling Alab Pilipinas failed to complete a comeback for the second straight game and absorbed a 78-74 loss to Saigon Heat on Sunday in the ASEAN Basketball League at the CIS gym in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
World imports Sampson Carter and James Hughes and local star Ray Parks Jr. led Alab back from a 35-21 second quarter deficit and 37-26 at halftime to end the third tied at 53-all, but had no answers for the Heat duo of world import Lenny Daniel and Thai-American Moses Morgan in the payoff period.
Daniel and Morgan frustrated in the visiting Alab squad in the fourth, thus dealing the Filipinos another frustrating defeat on the road.
Carter had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Parks finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Hughes added 11 points and 11 rebounds after missing last week’s 79-77 loss to the Westports Malaysia Dragons because of an expired passport, but Alab dropped to 8-6.
Alab fell two games behind the Singapore Slingers in the race for the No. 2 spot and the homecourt advantage in the best-of-three semifinals. The Slingers have an 11-5 record, 1 1/2 games off the league-leading Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions, who have an 11-2 mark.
Both Hong Kong and Singapore have clinched the first two semifinal berths.