A full month after suffering a crushing debut loss, San Miguel Alab Pilipinas exacted vengeance on Mono Vampire, taking a 96-73 home win in the ABL Season 10, Tuesday at the Filioil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
And they have former Mono import Sam Deguara to thank for the victory.
“Last time we played these guys, we were out-coached and outplayed. It’s important for us to come back and show how much progress we’ve made the last four weeks,” said head coach Jimmy Alapag, recalling their 76-111 loss.
The 7-foot-5 Maltese big man dropped 20 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks on his former squad to lift the home side to its third straight win.
Already up 68-58 heading into the final frame, Alab went on a furious 16-0 run to put Mono away for good. Deguara himself had eight points during the spurt.
But it was not just Deguara who stepped up for Alab. Nick King also played his best game for Alab, finishing with 24 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the field, 8-of-10 from the foul stripe.
Khalif Wyatt added 13 points, five assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Jason Brickman flirted with a triple-double with 10 assists, eight points, and eight rebounds. Meanwhile, Brandon Rosser chipped in 11 points.
“Challenge is just chemistry and camaraderie, but these guys checked their egos at the door and we fast-tracked the chemistry of this team by coming every day ready to work,” Alapag continued.
Both teams are now 3-1 in the standings.
Tyler Lamb led Mono with 22 points, while Mike Singletary added 17 markers. However, the latter only shot just 4-of-12 from the field.
Alab will head on the road on Sunday when it faces Formosa.
The Scores:
San Miguel Alab 96 – King 24, Deguara 20, Wyatt 13, Ganuelas-Rosser 11, Brickman 8, Gray 6, Heading 5, Domingo 5, Vigil 4, Rangel 0, Caracut 0
Mono 73 – Lamb 22, Singletary 17, Morgan 9, Knowles 9, Ananti 6, Watkins 4, Lish 2, Chanthachon 2, Phuangla 2, Saengtong 0, Boonserm 0, Towaroj 0
Quarterscores: 20-18, 38-35, 68-58, 96-73
