Alab to face Saigon next in Cebu

ENERGY BOOST. The crowd goes wild after Alab Pilipinas import Renaldo Balkman slams it home at the Lapu-Lapu Hoopsdome. (SunStar photo / Allan Cuizon)
ENERGY BOOST. The crowd goes wild after Alab Pilipinas import Renaldo Balkman slams it home at the Lapu-Lapu Hoopsdome. (SunStar photo / Allan Cuizon)

LOOKS like the San Miguel Alab Pilipinas stint in Cebu will not only be for one game.

Alab Pilipinas played here for the first time and lived up to expectations with a dominating win over the Zuhai Wolf Warriors in the Asean Basketball League (ABL) at the Lapu-Lapu City Hoops Dome on Sunday night, Jan. 6.

“Next month,” said Alab Pilipinas head coach Jimmy Alapag, when asked after the game regarding the team’s next schedule here.

A source told SunStar Cebu that Alab Pilipinas is penciled to face the formidable team of Saigon Heat for their possible next game in Cebu, but things are still in negotiation with the local organizers.

The former national team skipper Alapag couldn’t be happier on the support thrown by Cebuanos to Alab Pilipinas.

“You know in my 14-year career, I spent a lot of time playing in Cebu. There’s something about playing in Cebu. The fans’ support, the love and the energy of the fans are all there. It’s always great to be here, and I’m thankful that now that I’m coaching, my players got to experience that,” said Alapag.

Alab Pilipinas lived up to its billing as they rushed to pull away in the second quarter thanks to a potent shooting beyond the arc. The team never looked back and finished off the Warriors with a 10-point win.

Josh Urbiztondo was the spark off the bench, hitting three from rainbow country before Caelan Tiongson knocked down a pair of trey and the Alab Pilipinas took a commanding 59-43 lead at the half.

Alab Pilipinas was on target beyond the arc, hitting a total of 16 three-pointers.

“Tonight was a great win, it gave us a lot of momentum going to the week. We have a quick turn around and will prepare for Malaysia for our next game,” said Alapag. “We play Malaysia on Wednesday and Hong Kong on Friday.”

Alab Import Renaldo Balkman had a quiet 21 points on top of 11 rebounds and six assists, Ethan Alvaro canned 21 points and had seven assists and four steals, while Urbiztondo scored 19 from an impressive 6-of-10 shooting from three-point range.

PBA-bound Bobby Ray Parks Jr. handed 12 points for Alab and import PJ Ramos controlled the paint with 11 rebounds to go along with seven points and six assists.

“Absolutely it was a good game for us, the fact that the fans came out to support us tonight. We came out with the energy and I thought for the most part we are very consistent throughout the game,” Alapag said.

Big men Chen Cai and Mike Bell led the Warriors with 20 points each, Mike Taylor handed 19, Cris Shentu had 15 and import Eddy Curry poured in 14.

The defending champion Alab Pilipinas continued to pace the league with a perfect 5-0 (win-loss) record, while the Warriors remained a cellar-dweller with 1-8 slate.

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