Public Enemies No 1

Yee Chun Leong

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Monday, December 21, 2009

Patriots vs Barracudas: Filipinos return home as 'Philippine foes'

WITH four days left until Christmas Brunei Barracudas' Philippine contingent are back in Manila but as Public Enemies No 1.

The Barracudas' three Filipino imports and their head coach Bong Ramos are in the Philippines for another battle against the Philippine Patriots today in their Asean Basketball League (ABL) match at the Ynares Sports Arena in Manila.

Ramos came up with the right formula to conjure up a vital victory in their playoff run last Sunday beating ABL favourites and table-toppers, the Patriots, 95-70 at the Indoor Stadium of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas to halt the Filipinos' six-game winning streak and hand them only their second defeat of the season. (The only other team to have beaten the Patriots are the Singapore Slingers).

In what was a mission impossible turned mission accomplished, the Barracudas' Filipino imports Leo Avenido and Don Camaso each poured in 18 points while captain Francis 'Kiko' Adriano chipped in 13 points for an all-round winning performance last Sunday.

They face another tough assignment today slay the Patriots in their own backyard. The game is a rescheduled match which was supposed to be held on Oct 31 but had to be called off due to typhoon Santi.

"They managed to bounce back against the KL Dragons in a closely contested match last week. They have a good line-up and we will have to match their intensity and energy in Monday's match," said Ramos, the Barracudas head coach, in an interview with The Brunei Times.

"We have to be ready for this game ... we know they really want to get back at us after the defeat (in Brunei)," added Ramos.

The Patriots are coming off a hard fought 76-70 triumph over the KL Dragons at home on Saturday.

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Source: The Brunei Times