The woes continue to beat down Alab Pilipinas.
Alab Pilipinas still could not solve the Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions’ riddle as they absorbed yet another loss, 83-61, in the 2016-17 ASEAN Basketball League Sunday night at the Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex in Laguna.
Hong Kong have now proved their mastery of the Philippine side for the third time this season, with their first two victories all coming through a 13-point margin, 93-80, in their first round meeting, and 100-87 just this past Friday.
Furthermore, the Filipinos have now lost five of their six outings, including the recent defeat, dragging their win-loss record to an even 9-9. The Long Lions, on the other hand, rolled to their 10th straight win en route to a 15-2 card.
Lawrence Domingo anchored Alab’s offense with 15 points on 7-of-18 shooting, along with 11 rebounds. Robby Celiz supplied 12 markers, while import James Hughes posted a double-double of his own with 12 points and 13 boards.
Bobby Ray Parks, Jr., who led Alab in their last game with 21 points, was a non-factor, as he was reduced to nine markers on 2-of-12 shooting.
Alab were once down by as much as 24 in the first half, but a 12-2 scoring explosion ignited by Hughes and Celiz to open the final frame allowed the Filipinos to draw near by 13 points, 69-56, with 5:14 remaining.
But Hong Kong proved to be a tough nut to crack. After letting Alab make their run, imports Josh Boone and Tyler Lamb stepped up, hitting a lay-up and a triple respectively to widen the gap to 18, 74-56, with 3:12 on the clock.
From then on, the doors for a comeback were locked for Alab, paving the way for the Long Lions to coast to the 22-point victory.
Lamb led Hong Kong with 24 points on a notable 9-of-16 shooting, while Boone added 23 points and 19 rebounds. Marcus Elliott produced 18 markers despite shooting just 4-of-16 from the floor along with six dimes.
Both squads shot below 40 percent. Alab shot only 24-of-79 for a 30 percent clip, while Hong Kong made 37 percent by going 29-of-79. However, Alab grabbed more boards, 59-48; scored more second chance points, 22-16; and had more support from the bench, 12-8.
Alab and Hong Kong’s fourth and final regular season match-up will be next Sunday, March 19, 8:00 PM at the Almendras Gym in Davao.
The Scores:
Hongkong Eastern Long Lions (83) – Lamb 24, Boone 23, Elliott 18, Fong 5, Chan 5, Guinchard 4, Lau 3, Tang 1, Lee 0, Wu 0, Chung 0, Ip 0
Alab Pilipinas (61) – Domingo 15, Hughes 12, Celiz 12, Parks Jr. 9, Fortuna 7, Carter 6, Acuna 0, Hubalde 0, Mendoza 0, Cawaling 0
Quarterscores: 24-12, 48-28, 67-44, 83-61
