Coming off their worst loss of the season last Friday in Macau, San Miguel Alab Pilipinas were able to pick themselves up in Singapore, trouncing the Slingers, 80-70, Sunday evening at the OCBC Arena.
With the victory, Alab stayed ahead from the pack with a 17-4 record. Moreover, they swept their regular season series with their regional rivals as the Philippine-side took a 77-71 victory over the Slingers last December 23 in Caloocan.
PJ Ramos led the third quarter breakaway of Alab, scoring nine of his 22 points during that span. The 7-foot-3 behemoth also grabbed 17 rebounds while swatting away four shots.
With Ramos providing a much-needed spark, Alab went on a 13-3 run to go up by double-digits with 2:13 left in the third canto to gain a 63-52 cushion.
Alab’s biggest lead was at 12 points in the closing moments of the game.
Besides Ramos, Renaldo Balkman scattered 28 points, eight rebounds, and six dimes.
Disaster though came for Alab as young gun Brandon Rosser suffered an apparent right knee injury during the second stanza.
John Fields paced the third-running Slingers with 21 points and seven boards. Xavier Alexander chipped in 18 points and 12 rebounds
Alab will next face the Black Bears on Friday, March 8 at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
The Scores
San Miguel Alab 80 – Balkman 28, Ramos 22, Domingo 12, Alvano 7, Parks 6, Sumalinog 3, Urbiztondo 2, Javelona 0, Rosser 0, Rivero 0, Torres 0.
Singapore 70 – Fields 21, Young 19, Alexander 18, Goh 11, J. Lim 1, Oh 0, Liew 0, Ng 0, Low 0, K. Lim 0.
Quarterscores: 18-21, 33-35, 69-58, 80-70.
