Renaldo Balkman made history on Wednesday night, scoring 46 big points to help San Miguel Alab Pilipinas shock Hong Kong Eastern Basketball Team, 98-94, in their ABL semifinals opener at the Southorn Stadium in Hong Kong.
The Puerto Rican — who also had 14 rebounds, four assists, four steals, and two blocks — now owns the most points in a playoff game, eclipsing the 45 points set by fellow World Import Justin Howard back in the 2015-2016 season.
And the way Balkman set the new record couldn’t be more poetic, as it came from pressure-packed freebies with about 37 seconds left to play — freebies that broke the 94-all deadlock and set up Alab’s first-ever semifinals victory.
Reigning Local Most Valuable Player Ray Parks, Jr. showed his old form, chipping in 26 points and 10 rebounds. World Import Justin Brownlee was an assist short of a triple double as he had 16 points, 12 boards, and nine dimes.
Alab had a start slow in the match and trailed 4-17 to the home team early on, but were able to rev up in the second frame just like an engine. They closed the said period with a 9-0 rally to end the first half in their favor, 50-43.
The Filipino club team kept their place on the driver’s seat afterwards and would lead by as much as 15, 75-60, with 1:30 left in the third canto thanks to a 14-5 scoring spree — anchored and punctuated by Balkman.
But Hong Kong found life in the payoff period thanks to Marcus Elliott and Tyler Lamb. Elliott scored 10 straight to open the quarter, and a Lamb teardrop helped HK Eastern wipe out the lead and close by five, 74-79, with 7:28 to go.
The visitors then found it hard to re-erect a double-digit wall, as Hong Kong found ways to chop it down. And things became tough for Alab as Lamb and Lee Ki nailed back-to-back treys to send the match to a 94-all tie with 56 ticks to go.
However, Balkman happened to Hong Kong, as his freebies with 37 seconds left broke the deadlock. Lamb had a chance to save Hong Kong again, but his three-pointer missed and was hauled down by Balkman.
Brownlee’s perfect shots from the line with 10 seconds left and Ki’s traveling violation as he was trying to create space for a three-pointer were all enough for Alab to come back to their homeland with the big W in their bag.
Lamb, who got shaken up in the third due to an apparent leg injury, led Hong Kongn with 32 points. The Thai-American has tied Chong Son’s Fil-Am guard Mikh McKinney for the most points scored by a Heritage Import in a playoff bout.
Elliott finished with just the second playoff triple-double in league history with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Fil-German Christian Standhardinger had 18 points and 15 rebounds, setting the record for the most rebounds garnered by a Heritage Import in the playoffs. The 6-foot-8 forward-center also had an assist and a block to his name.
San Miguel Alab now has the opportunity to close out the reigning titlists and book a trip to the ABL Finals in Game Two on Sunday, April 15, at the Santa Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex in Santa Rosa, Laguna. Tip-off is at 8:00 PM.
The Scores:
San Miguel Alab (98) – Balkman 46, Parks, Jr. 23, Brownlee 16, Domingo 6, Javelona 3, Raymundo 2, Hontiveros 2, Urbiztondo 0, Alabanza 0, Celiz 0.
Eastern (94) – Lamb 32, Elliott 22, Standhardinger 18, Lee 10, Moss 5, Lau 3, Xu 2, Tang 2.
Quarterscores: 14-25, 50-43, 75-62, 98-94.
