To borrow Rudy Tomjanovich’s legendary phrase, “Don’t Ever Underestimate The Heart Of A Champion!” is just appropriate for the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) defending champions, the Air Asia Philippine Patriots. The Patriots, which struggled to a 9-6 win-loss mark in the eliminations, completed a sweep of the third-seeded Westports Kuala Lumpur Dragons as they blasted the host squad, 95-92 in a pulsating game two of their best-of-three semi-final series. The Mikee Romero-owned Patriots now awaits the winner in the other semis match-up between top-seed Chang Thailand Slammers and the Singapore Slingers. The Patriots survived the physical game of the Dragons despite the three fouls of import Gabe Freeman in the first half. Guard Benedict Fernandez buried a crucial howitzer in the last 16 seconds that sealed the game for the visitors. Patriots head coach Louie Alas was elated with the win but he also take note of some defensive lapses of his charges, which kept the Dragons in the game.
“That was the biggest shot of the night (Fernandez 3-point shot). We had some lapses defensively but Benedict bailed us out of trouble.”
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