In the second round between the battle of the giants, PJ Ramos and Renaldo Balkman once again stood tall over Sam Deguara.
Behind the two towering guest players, San Miguel Alab Pilipinas ran roughshod on the Hong Kong Eastern BC anew, taking an 88-76 victory, Sunday evening at the Sta. Rosa Multipurpose Complex in Laguna.
With the win, Alab remained at the top of the standing at 9-2 while dropping Hong Kong to sixth with a 9-8 record. Moreover, the Philippine-side continued its mastery over Hong Kong, also picking up an 87-75 win over them last January 12.
It was Ramos and Balkman once again at the forefront for Alab with Ramos knocking down a personal-high of four triples for 18 points and 19 rebounds.
The 7-foot-3 Puerto Rican provided the spark in the third canto as his triple started a 17-2 spurt that turned a 45-43 edge into a 62-45 lead with 4:25 left.
Balkman added 20 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists.
With Bobby Ray Parks Jr. missing his second straight game, the locals once again stepped up. Josh Urbiztondo had 16 points built on four triples while Lawrence Domingo and Caelan Tiongson chipped in 10 markers each.
Marcus Elliott had 21 points while O’Darien Bassett added 14 markers. Hong Kong needed the contribution of the two as Deguara, who figured in a controntation with Ramos and Balkman, was limited to just seven points, 12 rebounds, and five swats.
Alab will head to Zhuhai on January 29 as they face the Zhuahi Wolf Warriors.
The Scores:
San Miguel Alab 88 –– Balkman 20, Ramos 18, Urbiztondo 16, Domingo 10, Tiongson 10, Alvano 7, Rosser 4, Javelona 3, Sumalinog 0, Torres 0.
Hong Kong 76 — Elliott 21, Bassett 14, Lau 9, Xu 7, Deguara 7, Chan 5, Yang 5, Siu 5, Tang 3.
Quarterscores: 26-23, 45-41, 73-55, 88-76.
