Press release From Stella Oo/ABL
Alex Hartman (Satria Muda #8) hits heavy traffic in the form of Jason Dixon (Patriots #42). (Photo courtesy of ABL)
San Juan, Wednesday, February 17, 2010 – The Philippine Patriots have put themselves within touching distance of the inaugural ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) championship with a resounding 72-53 victory over Satria Muda BritAma in Game 2 of the best-of-five finals.
Patriots coach Louis Alas had called for a more sustained defensive effort and got it this time, holding the Indonesian champions to just 53 points.
With a 2-0 lead, the series now shifts to Jakarta where Satria Muda will be hoping that their home court will be as kind to them as Manila was to the Patriots. With their backs to the walls, Satria Muda need some inspiration to get anywhere near the Patriots, who are still unbeaten after adding import Gabe Freeman to their lineup.
Freeman was at his usual brilliant best with 23 points and 13 rebounds but when he had to sit down after being saddled with 3 fouls in the second quarter, it was local Filipino Rob Wainwright who took over the scoring.
Doing the majority of his damage with Freeman on the bench, Wainwright finished with 16 points, 11 of those coming in the first half, yet another testament to the strength in depth that the Patriots can call upon.
As for the Jakarta-based club, it was yet another disappointing outing for their import duo of Alex Hartman and Nakiea Miller who finished with 12 and 11 points respectively, figures which are simply not good enough if Satria Muda are to have any chance whatsoever of making this series a competitive one.
Miller did get into double digits for rebounding with 10 but it is apparent that without the injured local Christian Sitepu to help him out on the boards, the enigmatic center is showing signs of strain.
In fact, Satria Muda’s top scorer for the game was their local star Rony Gunawan who surprised the Patriots with 15 markers as the Patriots held Hartman and Miller in check.
Not that the home side had it all their own way. When Hartman hit one of his three 3-pointers to kick off the fourth quarter, Satria Muda were down by just six points at 46-52. But a 13-0 run by the Patriots put paid to any comeback hopes for Satria Muda.
The run was sparked by a 3-pointer from their point guard Christian Coronel whose aggressive defense on his Indonesian counterpart Mario Wuysang might have been called for fouls had this game been played in any other city except Manila, yet another advantage of home court comforts.
The 13-0 run ballooned the lead to 19 and was just too much for Satria Muda to dig themselves out of and the Patriots were able to cruise all the way home to what many now perceive as an unassailable series lead and gives them the chance to go for a series clinching victory this Sunday in Jakarta.
For Satria Muda, both Hartman and Miller need to find some way to get themselves out of their shooting funk and establish their presence in the series.
A frustrated Miller said on his twitter feed: “Indonesia I apologize for the terrible game! I always admit when I play terrible! Can’t play great every game!”
Satria Muda fans will be hoping Miller and Hartman find their game on Sunday back on home court against a potent Patriots lineup and that they have not left it too late.
Philippine Patriots Game Box Score
| # | Name | PTS | FG | 3PT | FT | OR | DR | TR | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | MIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| total | 72 | 27/80 | 9/25 | 9/10 | 16 | 28 | 44 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 17 | 200 | |
| 0 | *John Paul Alcaraz | 2 | 1/4 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9:30 |
| 3 | *Warren Ybanez | 3 | 1/3 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 24:45 |
| 4 | Christian Coronel | 5 | 2/9 | 1/6 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15:15 |
| 5 | Robert Wainwright | 16 | 5/9 | 4/8 | 2/2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24:39 |
| 8 | Val Acuna | DNP | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Elmer Espiritu | 3 | 1/6 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 18:14 |
| 14 | Khasim Mirza | DNP | ||||||||||||
| 16 | *Jerwin Gaco | 4 | 2/5 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 23:27 |
| 21 | Siverino Jr. Baclao | 2 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 13:06 |
| 25 | *Gabriel Freeman | 23 | 9/21 | 1/6 | 4/4 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 28:08 |
| 34 | Erwin Romme Sta. Maria | 3 | 1/3 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5:10 |
| 42 | *Jason Lamar Dixon | 11 | 4/17 | 0/0 | 3/4 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 37:46 |
Satria Muda BritAma Game Box Score
| # | Name | PTS | FG | 3PT | FT | OR | DR | TR | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | MIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| total | 53 | 21/63 | 7/28 | 4/11 | 12 | 27 | 39 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 12 | 200 | |
| 5 | Faisal Achmad Julius | 0 | 0/2 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6:09 |
| 6 | Wendha Wijaya | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1:38 |
| 7 | Amin Prihantono | 6 | 2/6 | 2/5 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14:22 |
| 8 | *Alexander Gordon Hartman | 12 | 4/12 | 3/8 | 1/4 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 37:06 |
| 9 | *Youbel Sondakh | 4 | 2/4 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 30:25 |
| 11 | Galank Gunawan | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:14 |
| 13 | *Rony Gunawan | 15 | 7/12 | 1/4 | 0/1 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 29:44 |
| 14 | Welyanson Situmorang | 0 | 0/3 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7:22 |
| 18 | *Mario Wuysang | 5 | 1/4 | 1/2 | 2/2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 33:14 |
| 43 | *Nakiea Miller | 11 | 5/20 | 0/6 | 1/4 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 37:46 |
Nakiea Miller (Satria Muda #43) lays up for two against Dixon. He had a poor game by his standards. (Photo 2 courtesy of ABL)
Gabe Freeman (Patriots #25) hits a jumper while Youbel Sondakh (Satria Muda #9) can only look on. Freeman had a double-double performance. (Photo 3 courtesy of ABL)
Popularity: 26% [?]
uh-oh!
it is a sweep! hopefully not.
SMB will win game 3!
i think the patriots will win 3-1
i’m hoping for a 3-0 sweep. go philippine patriots!!!!
Theirs a possibility that this will be a sweep..But we dont know yet whos gonna win in game 3..im sure Satria Muda will play hard in order to survive this series and not dissapoint in front of their homecourt and yes Satria’s owner also.c”,)
“…Christian Coronel whose aggressive defense on his Indonesian counterpart Mario Wuysang might have been called for fouls had this game been played in any other city except Manila, yet another advantage of home court comforts.”
- a subtle way of saying the refs helped the Patriots????
Maybe next season, Patriots should use only one import. This cuts expenses and maybe elicit more interest among Pinoys. Pinoys always like to root for underdogs.
“…Christian Coronel whose aggressive defense on his Indonesian counterpart Mario Wuysang might have been called for fouls had this game been played IN ANY OTHER CITIES EXCEPT MANILA, yet another advantage of home court comforts.”
…as always,Ms, Stella delivers!.
How can she say this, is she a referee herself? How can she say “in any other cities except Manila”, what is she trying to say that we are basketball cheats? Wow, that is so low brow news writing. Miss Stella tell me your sources. You know what, if you really want to be biased against the Patriots, you could have interviewed an Indonesian fan and COAX him to say “SMB would have won if not for the uncalled fouls on Wuysang”in the article.
IMHO, the referees at ABL are so bad right now. They need to overhaul their officiating. So many missed calls and non calls happening on most games.
To any insider on the ABL: what is the name of the new Philippine team entering league?
Coronel had made good positioning against wuysang,while in fact wuysang ability to pass can easily read by any oppononent.
I heard in one article it will be two 2 teams?
Whether from Philipines, Indonesia or Vietnam?
What i sense, philipines new entry will deny.
“The run was sparked by a 3-pointer from their point guard Christian Coronel whose aggressive defense on his Indonesian counterpart Mario Wuysang might have been called for fouls had this game been played in any other city except Manila, yet another advantage of home court comforts.”
- two words for Stella: PLAY CHESS.
I for one, don’t deny the effect of homecourt advantage. Even in the top-tier leagues like the NBA, the refs will always take it a little easier on the home team. The fact that we used it to our advantage isn’t cheating, it’s playing smart.
Seriously, an article that is supposed to report on the Patriots’ victory was marred by some insensitive comments made by the person writing this article.
Are there more important events in the game apart from this happening? Would you had reported on the number of ants that crawled past the court without getting squashed by the players’ feet or the wattage of the bulbs in the stadium?
You are not doing justice to the fans of ABL with such reporting! Period.
the author epically FAILS!!!
defensive assignments and adjustments are normal, the Patriots executed the same strategy used by Letran: swarm and harass the point guard.
remember, this is the playoffs its either you play physical or risk defeat.
“In fact, Satria Muda’s top scorer for the game was their local star Rony Gunawan who surprised the Patriots with 15 markers as the Patriots held Hartman and Miller in check”
-surprised?? do you even think its not part of their plan to let the locals go for the shot instead of the top scoring imports that migth spark a run, do you wonder why they can held hartman and miller to a few points and not gunawan.. its been a strategy used for so long and yet they dont have a clue.. and i bet coach roring will use gunawan more and let him score more thinking he migth be the savior next game which is exactly what coach alas want to happen..
“The run was sparked by a 3-pointer from their point guard Christian Coronel whose aggressive defense on his Indonesian counterpart Mario Wuysang might have been called for fouls had this game been played in any other city except Manila, yet another advantage of home court comforts.”
-if you were a espn sports analyst i migth believe, you but if you cant be unbiased on your articles then keep your wishful thinking to your self.
and just to add if the writer thinks referee is biased do you think freeman will have 3 fouls as early as the 2nd quarter.. the man who scored 39 pts last outing!
BTW…the game was played in San Juan, which is a city of its own and is not part of Manila = P
Give auntie stella a break guys. She and a lot of abl fans always see the philippine basketball team as an oppressor perhaps.
Thanks for the correction, Mart.
Just stick to the game folks… Let the best team win….
For those who don’t already know, we are quite happy to receive anyone’s story and post it on Red Hoops.
We’ll go with your piece unless it’s a scurrilous piece or I don’t understand what you wrote. lol
Stella sent the press release out to us on behalf of the ABL. The ABL marketing department sends out releases after every game.
We had no volunteers in Manila for Game 2 and to feed the appetite for news, I decided to put up the ABL press release as quickly as I could. I know some of you would like the news as fast as we can post it.
Happy to post anyone’s story if you have an an opposite opinion.
Best way to get it off your chest is to write your piece.
You can contact jan@redhoops.com and we’ll post your story up.
You send it, we post it.
@les, i think everyone knows that anyone can send their own story and i think thats fair.. but since theres that square at the bottom of every story you post where we can write our comments and reaction then we are going to take advantage of it, we dont need to write our own piece this little square is enough for our thoughts to be heard!
Hi everyone!
Stella Oo’s article is also the official press release that we received from ABL, which was why it is up on the site. You may need to contact ABL directly to air your grievances regarding this!
As Les mentioned, we aren’t able to be at every game physically to report and write our own stories – but we will be for this Sunday’s Game 3! – so we are happy to put up official sources or readers contributions from any of you that paint a good picture of the game!
Having said that, check out Nards’ review of this game here:
http://redhoops.com/2010/02/18/reader-analysis-satria-muda-patriots
So, you can always email me if you have an analysis/review of this nature to contribute and share with everyone! jan@redhoops.com
is the writer watched the games live in manila, or over espn in malaysia.
@3stars – just advertising the fact for those who are new
Les, I like Red Hoops, I think your site is helping basketball to be recognized as a major sport in our region, but you have to understand that your site is growing exponentially each day. God forbid, ABL may have its demise but your site will continue to exist because it is putting forth a basketball agenda that’s unique,…basketball for the ASEAN.
So, can you guys please up the ante a little by exercising editorial license on the articles that are sent to you? Just my humble suggestion.. Stella Oo’s blog-come-press releases have been published twice already (that I know of). On both occasions, she exhibited her reportage deficiencies. In all honesty, that has dulled a bit of the sheen of my beloved Red Hooops and I feel bad about it.
Yes, I’m a Red Hoops fan and anything that is about a united and progressive ASEAN.
@jerby – When it comes to editing people’s submission, as you can imagine, it’s a bit of guesswork. I’ve erred on the side of letting people state their opinion wherever possible, both in the post as well as in the comments section (until it gets personal then we start deleting!).
Goodness knows my own basketball articles are quite deficient as well cos I didn’t grow up watching basketball but I’ve come to enjoy the sport as a spectator and most other sports are now boring to watch by comparison (love the stats!).
So as a result, I’m quite cool letting folks write their piece and state their opinions.
After running sports websites for three years now – redsports.sg for three and redhoops.com for 5 months – I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s quite hard to please everyone. Someone always gets upset about what is written (or even not written).
You know how some writers get your goat and drive you crazy, while others you just love to bits? Perhaps Stella Oo and Nards can play those two opposite roles.
It will certainly make life more interesting on Red Hoops, yes?
I certainly appreciate your thoughtful feedback.
@Les: unless If I can find a good basketball story to write about, then I can consider making another write-up
@Nards: The door is always open to you if something else gets you motivated to start typing away. : )
You guys need to back off the author and be fair… don’t let the support for your team overwhelm your logical perspective. There was an opinion stated (by the author) that the defense on Wuysang was overly physical. By itself, as an observation, this is not untrue. If you don;t agree, rebut this opinion, but lets not get personal.
From a basketball perspective, the refs did not call the physical defensive checks….so any smart player..will up their quotient of physicality, until the ref calls a foul and signals that they have breached the level of tolerance. Both sets of players have to learn to play within the calls.
As the refs did not call…the patriots defense on Wuysang got progressively more physical.
FIBA is supposedly stricter on hand checking, lower body contact, and physically preventing players from moving to their new neutral positions. This is unlike the NBA (I know that the PBA follows the NBA). Incidentally, NBA has now implemented the no hand checking rule…and that is driving the defensive players crazy as they scramble to adjust.
Problem is that the ABL refs do not seem to follow an internal standard interpretation of what levels of contact they will allow. I have seen many a game where there is no consistent interpretation of contact within the same game, much less across different games. So every game seems to be a question of lets see what we can get away with…
@kelvin, we understand those things that you said regarding the referees, yes sometimes their consistent and sometimes we dont agree on their call thats where the boos come from in kl, in jakarta in sis in wherever.. but is there justice in saying its only happening in manila???
“Christian Coronel whose aggressive defense on his Indonesian counterpart Mario Wuysang might have been called for fouls had this game been played in any other city except Manila”
If Wuysang had applied the same aggressive defense on Coronel and is called for the foul then there’s something fishy.
Maybe SMB should try that once in awhile (to see if the refs are biased).
If refs call it too tight compared to previous games, there’s nothing wrong unless it is only implemented in favor of one team.
If the refs allow physical plays then SMB should adjust and play physical too.
FIBA referees, in my point of view, are basically the most unpredictable of all. Sometimes they call it super tight, sometimes they’re very passive even though you already see blood in their mouth it’s still play-on. Sometimes they call a handcheck foul, sometimes they don’t.
Taking what Doug Collins said in the 2008 Olympics is that FIBA referees all came from different countries were each referee from a certain country may find their interpretations somewhat different from the other referees.
That’s how I always interpret FIBA officiating, and it’s just simply up to the players to adjust.
The coaches should prepare their teams (in the off season) to be able to play with finesse and with physicality. So that they will be able to adjust to the referee’s calls during a game.
But it’s very hard for a player to be able to play the 2 styles effectively.
@mart I agree! I think coaches and players should familiarize themselves about the referees. Which calls this ref love to whistle? Is that referee would call a foul with a slight touch? Is this referee seldom blows a whistle till he sees blood? …you know, just certain nuances.
Also, it would be a key to keep the core of their respective teams together. A good example is the Slingers, they should keep Jeffers, LeBlanc, and Al Vergara as well as Desmond Oh, Marcus Ng, and Pathman. I also expect that the Patriots will try to keep Dixon and Freeman for next season.
Switching Wuysang over from bajar is not good decision.
I prefer SMB guard should be bajar and wijaya.. Wuysang and faisal out.
A couple of thoughts:
Referees officiating at these levels generally call it both ways, regardless of how they interpret the contact rules. There are good and there are better refs, but as they are under a microscope on these bigger stages, they are not biased as they will be running their last game if they are. Savvy players pick up on individual officiating nuances and know what they can get away with. This is part of becoming a “game-wise” player. Not coincidentally, the best clutch players are in this group, and often get to the foul line at crucial moments.
The second point is that the better referees, whether under US or FIBA rules (from experience), will tell the team captains before the game starts, how they will call the game (e.g. “if you reach around the back I will call it”, “I will call the lane violations”, etc.). To reduce the unpredictability factor, it would be good for the ABL referees to consistently adapt this practice so as to avoid protests of perceived ommitted or committed calls later, and still allow them to officiate as they interpret the rules or in the style they prefer.
Strictly my opinion.
better to play, than be a referee..
@irangels, mart and gym rat… with all of the things you said which i all agree lets go back on the article where all of this started..is there still justice in saying that it only happens in manila ???
i think all of us agree that this doesnt happen solely on patriots ground
what bothers me the most is that its the same press release from abl website..with the author questioning the credibility of the referees is the same as questioning the credibility of the organization itself, where referees are a vital part… isnt it self incriminating
Great points by Gym Rat…good refs are supposed to meet before the game and discuss how they will interpret the judgmental issues…and they will tell the captains how they will call before the tip off…and will be talking to the players throughout the game…esp on judgment calls…e.g watch your hand checking number 7…watch your hand checking….then whistle.
Anyway, like most readers already know…experienced players and coaches need to adapt to the refs. Except for blatant biasness….everything else, good calls, bad calls, no calls is all a part of the in-game adjustment and management.
Thats also why vision and judgement are not real issues, the poor calls are the inconsistent ones, that the teams can’t adjust to.
Hi Kelvin, all I’m after is to have better sports writing on this site. It ain’t personal, it’s about good writing. I know I’m just a guy who posts on forums but I think Stella Oo’s articles are just so low brow reportage. Somehow, she should know these things, so she can get better. I’m not trying to be pejorative, but I’ve read better sports writing done by high school students here in my island.
Beyond the drama,… a more objective press release from ABL please.
Yeah, the officiating of ABL needs an upgrade
Thanks
GymRat is spot on (letting the players know on how the game will be called)..
But I think they should do the orientation/interpretation of the rules at the start of the tournament not at the start of each game. So that teams will have time to prepare.
But in reality, whenever there’s a melee/fracas or even a protest made by a team after a game, the refs will adjust their calls for the succeeding games. The refs should be consistent in interpreting the rules. the league should not not give in.
I think some of the teams also scout the referees. They can exploit a ref’s tendencies/judgments.
@mart. Actually, some teams do scout the referees so that they would know what types of adjustments they would work on.
In fact, on team USA’s scrimmage or practices, they always bring in FIBA referees from other countries so that they would be able to know their nuances as well as for the players to adjust and interact with certain officials. Sounds expensive, but hey!, it’s team USA, they got a very good (if not excellent) financial capability.
@3stars. P’re, I don’t really know, and I don’t think it’s also fair to say that it only happens in Manila. I think a good reference here was the tightness of the referees on game one of the finals. That’s because the calls made by the referees are always based on judgement calls, and the pace of the game at times affects it. So if there’s a conspiracy behind those calls, it’s very hard to conclude that there really is something’s fishy going on. Unless, we can come up with such very compelling evidence.
Again, there’s also the culture factor. It’s alright if the game is physical on certain cultures. In others, it’s not. That’s why I read some comments that says this guy made a dirty play, but when I saw it, I don’t think there’s anything dirty about it. You get the picture.
Referees will never be consistent, same as player,there are good and bad nights.