Bangkok, Sunday, January 17, 2010 – The Philippine Patriots walked into the Thailand Tigers’ den and came away with a 91-87 victory.
The Patriots, reinforced by new American import Gabriel (Gabe) Freeman who had a team-high 21 points and 14 rebounds, stopped a two-game losing streak that saw them lose against the Singapore Slingers and the KL Dragons.
All was going to form in the first quarter when the Tigers trailed by as many as 11 before the home team narrowed the deficit to four after 10 minutes.
In the second quarter, the Tigers came to within one (26-27) with a Ikenna Nwankwo basket with six minutes to go in the quarter. The bottom-placed Tigers kept the Patriots within sight, outscoring them 28-25 in the period to trail by only one (45-46) at half-time.
The Tigers edged ahead with a seven-point (55-48) lead at the half-way mark of the third quarter but the Patriots hauled them back to take a one-point (69-68) lead into the fourth.
Contributions from Freeman (8 points including two 3-pointers) and Erwin Sta. Maria (6) in the final quarter saw out a Patriots victory that improved their win-loss record to 10-4.
Four Patriots – Freeman (21), Jason Dixon (15) Rob Wainwright (14) and Val Acuna (13) – were in double digits with Freeman and Dixon having a double-double each.
The Patriots have one remaining game in the league at home against the Brunei Barracudas and a win will seal first place in the standings and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Quarter by Quarter Scores
Tigers vs Patriots
1st Q: 17-21
2nd Q: 28-25
3rd Q: 23-23
4th Q: 19-22
Thailand Tigers Game Box Score
| # | Name | PTS | FG | 3PT | FT | OR | DR | TR | AST | STL | BS | TO | PF | MIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 87 | 31/73 | 10/27 | 15/27 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 19 | 17 | 200 | |
| 3 | *Chaz Twan Briggs | 10 | 4/20 | 0/4 | 2/6 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 40:00 |
| 6 | Nappakarn Muangboon | 3 | 1/2 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11:59 |
| 8 | Chattipak Ruankam | DNP | ||||||||||||
| 11 | *Glenn Santana Bolocon | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5:31 |
| 12 | Ratdech Kruatiwa | 22 | 8/13 | 6/11 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 33:17 |
| 14 | *Axel John Gaspal Doruelo | 11 | 4/7 | 2/4 | 1/2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 24:58 |
| 19 | *Ricky Inguin Ricafuente | 0 | 0/1 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8:41 |
| 23 | Piyapong Piroon | 4 | 2/5 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 14:47 |
| 35 | *Ikenna Chukwuemeka Nwankwo | 9 | 4/10 | 0/0 | 1/4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 24:27 |
| 55 | Attaporn Lertmalaiporn | 22 | 7/13 | 0/3 | 8/11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 22:56 |
| 69 | Darongpan Apiromvilaichai | 6 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 3/4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 13:24 |
| 96 | Darunpong Apiromvilaichai | DNP |
Philippine Patriots Game Box Score
| # | Name | PTS | FG | 3PT | FT | OR | DR | TR | AST | STL | BS | TO | PF | MIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 91 | 36/78 | 11/25 | 8/15 | 17 | 24 | 41 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 21 | 25 | 200 | |
| 0 | *John Paul Alcaraz | 5 | 2/4 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 22:19 |
| 3 | *Warren Ybanez | 5 | 2/7 | 1/5 | 0/3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 19:46 |
| 5 | *Robert Wainwright | 14 | 5/9 | 4/5 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 18:42 |
| 8 | Val Acuna | 13 | 5/7 | 2/4 | 1/2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13:27 |
| 9 | Elmer Espiritu | 2 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10:35 |
| 14 | Khazim Mirza | DNP | ||||||||||||
| 16 | Jerwin Gaco | 8 | 4/7 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13:19 |
| 21 | Siverino, Jr Baclao | 2 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10:14 |
| 25 | *Gabriel Freeman | 21 | 8/19 | 3/6 | 2/3 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 30:47 |
| 27 | Froilan Baguion | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7:59 |
| 34 | Erwin Romme Sta.Maria | 6 | 3/7 | 0/2 | 0/1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 16:28 |
| 42 | *Jason Lamar Dixon | 15 | 5/13 | 0/0 | 5/6 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 36:24 |
Popularity: 5% [?]
Over the course of the season I noticed that Attaporn Lertmalaiporn is by far the most consistent performer among ASEAN or local players. If I am an ABL team owner, I would make something happen to get this guy and play for my team. So far the concept of the ABL in looking for every country’s local hero is working.
Now the game. The Tigers did a very good job in keeping the game close, and outscoring the Patriot bench 57-31. That 57 points were all scored by the Tigers’ local players led by Lertmalaiporn and Ratdech Kruatiwa both scoring 22 points off the bench — Patriots local players only scored 55 points.
The only difference is rebounding. The Patriots outrebounded the Tigers 41-29 with 24 of those coming from the offensive end. The Tigers didn’t took advantage of their opportunities on the free throw line — making 15 out of 27 attempts. That’s just the total amount of free throws attempted by the Patriots. If the Tigers made at least 5 more of those, they just gave the Patriots their third consecutive loss.
Overall, the brightest spot should go to the local players of both teams.
Insightful analsis, Irangels. Appreciate it. : )
i agree. attaporn lertmalaiporn should be the league MVP, even though his team is in a losing note. this guy deserves a higher offer from other teams asides the tigers by next season.
@boy bangkoh, what a strong statement.. if there is a separate mvp for asean players..then maybe.. but remember that mvp race includes the imports and i doubt he scores better than hartman or mlb, have more rebounds than all the imports or better playmakers than vergara or lingganay.. he deserves some recognition though within the league..but on the second thought he may need to learn first how to win games then well give him the recognition.
because no other reliever for this tiger player, if they play with other teams having with same position still depend on coaching staff who will give more playing time.
I feel there are 4 more players in above mentioned tiger players but current tiger coach not giving more playing time, asean imports