Khalif Wyatt did not allow San Miguel Alab to lose in their first home game in the 10th season of the ABL, putting away the Singapore Slingers, 90-83, Sunday at the Sta. Rosa Multipurpose Complex in Laguna.
Wyatt drained five triples in the final frame to complete Alab’s comeback from 10 down, 55-65, with 8:01 left in the game.
All in all, the native of Norristown, Pennsylvania finished with 28 points — 20 in the final frame.
“We had a terrible third quarter, [so] going into the fourth we wanted to focus on getting stops. We got some stops, we got some rebounds. Because we got stops and rebounds, we got a chance to get out in transition and I got a chance to get some open looks,” said the 6-foot-4 guard out of Temple University.
This is Alab’s second straight win to go up to 2-1.
“Always great to get that first win at home. Tonight was just one of those grind-out games. I thought we got off to a sluggish start and I wanted the pace of the game to be a little bit faster, but I give credit to Singapore’s defense. They really pressured and kind of extended us out,” said head coach Jimmy Alapag.
Down by 10, Alab then went on a 16-2 rally to gain a 71-67 lead. Marcus Elliott would knot things up at 74-all, but another 12-5 blast by the Filipinos put the game away for good.
Debuting big man Sam Deguara had 12 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks for Alab. Fellow import Nick King scattered 10 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists.
The backcourt of Jordan Heading and Jason Brickman also did their part. The former finished with 10 points, while the latter tallied nine points and 11 assists.
Xavier Alexander led Singapore with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. Meanwhile, Anthony McClain had 25 points, 12 boards, and five blocks for the debuting Slingers.
Alab will next face the Mono Vampire on Tuesday at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
The Scores:
San Miguel Alab 90 – Wyatt 28, Deguara 12, King 10, Heading 10, Brickman 9, Ganuelas-Rosser 9, Vigil 7, Gray 3, Domingo 2, Caracut 0.
Singapore 83 – Alexander 26, McClain 25, Goh 12, Elliott 11, Lim 6, Kwek 3, Raj 0, Oh 0.
Quarterscores: 12-16, 35-36, 50-59, 90-83.
