RP Patriots eye revenge vs Barracudas

The Philippine Patriots hope to erase the stigma of their crushing defeat the last time when they clash with the Brunei Barracudas for the second time in eight days Monday in the ASEAN Basketball League at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

In what could be the biggest upset in the six-nation league, the Barracudas snapped the Patriots' six-game winning streak with a masterful 95-70 victory last week in Bandar Seri Begawan to boost their bid for the semifinals.

Brunei import Mike Pilgrim was so ecstatic that he even called the improbable victory in the local newspaper Brunei Times as "the mother of all victories".

But the RP Patriots coach Louie Alas shrugged it off.

"Maybe it's true because we were never expected to lose that big," said Alas. "But we will try to play as hard as we can to beat them."

The Patriots are coming off a hard-fought 76-70 win over the KL Dragons last Saturday that saw American import Brandon Powell breaking out of his offensive slump with 20 points, 13 of which came in the first half.

Powell was a huge disappointment against the Barracudas, making just three points before breathing fire against the Dragons.

"I told him to redeem himself because he's an import and he should forget about his age and be matured," Alas said of the 22-year-old Powell. "But I hope he would continue his impressive play."

The Patriots will also rely on 6-foot-10 American import Jason Dixon, who had 15 points and 15 rebounds for his sixth straight double-double, along with locals Jaypee Alcaraz, Warren Ybanez, Froilan Baguion and Nonoy Baclao.

The Barracudas, mentored by Filipino coach Bong Ramos, are expected to once again tap the services of Pilgrim, fellow American reinforcement Reggie Larry and Filipino cagers Leo Avenido, Don Camaso and Kiko Adriano.

Monday’s game was supposed to be held last Oct. 31 but was postponed because of Typhoon Santi.

Source: GMANews.TV