Espiritu haunts Slingers in RP Patriots’ win

This time, it was Elmer Espiritu’s turn to shine as the Philippine Patriots scored a vengeful 70-53 win over the Singapore Slingers in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) Saturday at The Arena in San Juan. The high-flying Espiritu scattered seven points in the fourth quarter, his last basket fuelling a mighty 10-0 run that all but settled the issue, 70-49.

It was the second straight win and third overall in four starts for the Patriots, who handed the Slingers their first defeat in five games. But more than that, the Patriots avenged their 74-69 defeat to the Slingers the first time they clashed three weeks ago in Singapore. The Patriots next collide with the Kuala Lumpur Dragons next week in Malaysia. As promised by coach Louie Alas, the Patriots rattled the Slingers with their paralyzing full-court press early before applying the zone defense in fourth that saw the Slingers scoring only four points in the last five minutes. In all, the Patriots, working behind the pesky defense of Espiritu, Jason Dixon and Brandon Powell, limited the Slingers to just three field goals in the fourth quarter. After falling behind by 18 points in the second quarter, the Slingers closed in at 42-50 on three straight charities by Singapore import Michael LeBlanc. But a completed three-point play by Espiritu abruptly ended Singapore’s bid to move closer. With their hot shooting, the Patriots coasted to a 36-23 lead at halftime with Powell leading the team’s assault with 10 points. The Patriots converted 16 of 32 tries for an impressive 52 percent shooting clip from the field. A spectacular shot by Powell off a perfect pass by point guard Froilan Baguion gave the home team its biggest lead in the first half at 18 points, 28-10, with 6:57 remaining in the second period. In sharp contrast, the Slingers struggled offensively in the first two quarters, bungling 21 of 31 shots for a 32 percent shooting while turning the ball over 12 times, four from Filipino import Al Vergara, who was troubled by a bad knee. Vergara, the lone Filipino player for the Slingers, suited up despite injuring his left knee during their 96-72 rout of Indonesia's Satria Muda BritAma last week. Unlike the first time they clashed, the Patriots showed cohesion with Baguio and Warren Ybanez combining for 13 assists. - GMANews.TV