ABL: Brunei Barracudas Win Match 95-70 Against Weakened Philippine Patriots

Sunday, December 13, 2009, Brunei Darussalam – Today the Brunei Barracudas went up against the Philippine Patriots for the first time at the Brunei Indoor Stadium, Bandar Seri Begawan.

Their first scheduled meet on 31^st October which was postponed due to Typhoon Santi has been rescheduled to 21 December, 6.00pm at Ynares Sports Arena, Manila, Philippines.

Brunei Barracudas started the match with their usual lineup of imports Michael Pilgrim, Reggie Larry, Francis Adriano, Leonidaz Avenido, and local player Esmond Tan to go up against Philippine Patriots’ Jerwin Gaco, Warren Ybanez, Brandon Powell, John Alcaraz and Jason Dixon.

Brunei Barracudas Michael Pilgrim won the jumpball against Philippine Patriots Jason Dixon, and Pilgrim also opened the scoring for the Barracudas, who took a lead early in the first quarter. The Patriots fought hard, and took a 1-point lead at the end of the first quarter which ended 21 – 20 against the Barracudas.

The teams were once against head-to-head in the second quarter, but the Philippine Patriots pulled away at the end of the second quarter, extending their lead to 4 points, ending 47 – 43 against the Barracudas at half time.

With 5 minutes left in the third quarter, the Brunei Barracudas picked up the pace, and improved their game to take a 9-point lead against the Patriots. The Barracudas ended the third quarter with an 8-point lead, ending 67 – 59 against the Patriots.

The breath-taking fourth quarter had both teams pushing hard, with the Barracudas delivering a shocking loss to the Patriots, winning the match with a huge 25-point lead, ending 95 – 70 against the Patriots.

Brunei Barracudas Team Owner Ms Nadzaty Azma Azeez was ecstatic over her team’s win against the top seeded Philippine Patriots, “I am really proud of our players and coaching staff, with one week of preparation and training we have overcome injuries and adversity. I am very happy with the outcome of this match, considering this is Brunei Barracudas’ first win over the Philippine team and this also keeps the Barracudas in the race to the playoffs”.

The Patriots, weakened by the absence of Nonoy Baclao who is honoring a previous commitment to play for Ateneo Blue Eagles in the Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) finals against FEU Tamaraws today, as well as the injured Elmer Espiritu who is nursing a broken cheek bone, were unable to keep up with the Barracudas.

Barracudas’ Reggie Larry and Michael Pilgrim lead the team with 20 points each followed by Celedon Camaso and Leonidaz Avenido with 18 points each. Larry and Avenido also topped with 8 rebounds each. The Patriots Jason Dixon lead the team with 14 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Dino Daa with 10 points.

Source: ABL | photos: BruneiBasketball.com