Caelan Tiongson and Bobby Ray Parks are stunned after the Game 1 loss. | contributed photo Ronex Tolin
Cebu City, Philippines – The defending champion San Miguel Alab Pilipinas finds itself in unfamiliar territory.
This after the seventh-seed Hong Kong Eastern pulled the rug from under the second-seeded Alab, coming back from 15 points down to stun the defending champions, 90-88, in Game 1 of the quarterfinal series of the ASEAN Basketball League on Friday, March 29, 2019, at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.
Not even the friendly confines of Cebu — where Alab has gone 3-0 (win-loss) this season — could stop the Filipinos’ losing skid, which has now reached five games.
Worse, the Filipinos’ title defense is in dire peril with Alab needing to win Game 2 of this best-of-three affair on April 3 at Hong Kong’s home floor of the Southorn Stadium in order to force Game 3 back in the Philippines.
Read more: Battle in Lapu-Lapu: Game 1 of Alab Pilipinas vs Hong Kong quarterfinals tips off tonight
Hong Kong Eastern trailed, 45-60, in the third but uncorked a 16-2 blast to pull to within one, 61-62.
Then, after ABL local MVP Bobby Ray Parks converted on a soft jumper that bounced off the rim and in to give Alab an 86-85 lead with 39 ticks left, Hong Kong’s world import O’Darien Bassett drew two defenders on the pick-and-roll and found sweet-shooting forward Lau Tsz Lai open on the left wing.
Without any hesitation, Lau fired up and shoved his squad in front for good with a booming three-pointer, 88-86, with 32 seconds to go.
After Alab failed to convert on their possession, Marcus Elliot gave Hong Kong a four-point lead, 90-86, with two free-throws. Alab quickly answered with a layup by Renaldo Balkman to trim the deficit to two, 88-90.
Alab gave itself a shot at either tying or winning the game after it forced Hong Kong into a backcourt violation with just eight seconds left. However, an indecisive Parks drove into the teeth of Hong Kong’s defense, spun and had his jumper blocked as time expired to give Hong Kong the win.
Bassett led Hong Kong with 29 points and seven assists, none more crucial than his heady play that led to Lau’s go-ahead triple. Elliot added 22 points, eight rebounds and five dimes, while Michael Holyfield had 14 points and hauled down 16 boards.
Alab Pilipinas got a near triple-double performance from Balkman who had 30 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. PJ Ramos added 17, Cebuano forward Caelan Tiongson put up 13 while Parks finished with 10.
THE SCORES:
HONG KONG EASTERN (90) Bassett 29, Elliott 22, Holyfield 14, Lau 9, Xu 8, Siu 5, Lee 3, Chan 0.
SAN MIGUEL ALAB PILIPINAS (88) Balkman 30, Ramos 17, Tiongson 13, Parks 10, Alvano 8, Rosser 7, Javelona 3, Urbiztondo 0, Sumalinog 0.
Quarterscores: 22-23, 36-44, 63-66, 90-88. /bmjo