Game Friday
(Southorn Stadium, Hong Kong)
8 p.m. – Hong Kong vs Alab Pilipinas
Alab Pilipinas wasted a huge comeback late in regulation and absorbed a 101-91 overtime loss to the Westports Malaysia Dragons Sunday night in the ASEAN Basketball League at the newly-christened Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
Alab erased an eight-point deficit with less than two minutes left in regulation to tie the game at 82-all and force a five-minute extension, but failed to stop Malaysia’s Fil-American Joshua Munzon, who scored a basket, assisted on one and made three steals during a 10-2 windup, to suffer another defeat.
Munzon, who was signed by Malaysia after he was curiously released by the Saigon Heat despite his fine form, finished with 25 points, seven steals, four rebounds and two assists for the Dragons in defeating Alab for the second straight time.
Ray Parks Jr. scored 27 points, had seven assists and five rebounds but it was not enough as Alab lost for the third time in the last four games and fell to 9-7 going into a big weekend affair with the league-best Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions.
The Mac Cuan-coached Alab was coming off a hard-fought 72-65 win over the Saigon Heat two days earlier in Ho Chi Minh City but failed to build on that momentum-building result against the Dragons, the league’s worst team with just four wins and 13 losses.
Their first meeting is set Friday at the Southorn Stadium in Hong Kong before the two teams meet again two days later at the same Sta. Rosa venue, which was completed recently by its city government.
Alab’s recent struggles have put the Philippine side way behind Hong Kong (11-2) for the top spot, but is still in contention for second place and the homecourt advantage in the best-of-three semis after the Singapore Slingers dropped a 75-73 decision to the Heat at the OCBC Arena in the Lion City.
Alab is one off the 11-6 Slingers in the loss column but its hold of third over the 6-9 Heat reduced to 2 1/2 games.