PHL Patriots face KL Dragons in ABL Season 2

AirAsia-Philippines hopes to get back to its winning ways when it battles Westports Malaysia on Sunday in the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) Season 2 at the MABA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Patriots are coming off a 68-69 loss to the Chang Thailand Slammers at the Ynares Sports Arena last week, a setback that ended the Philippines’ 14-game home winning streak. The loss dropped the Patriots to a share of the lead with the Slammers at similar 6-2 records. Patriots coach Louie Alas, who will not join the team since he is down with flu, remains confident that his wards can put that loss behind them and begin another winning streak. Alas expects his Patriots to show their true character when they clash with the rejuvenated Malaysians at 5 p.m. Assistant coaches Ryan Dy and Bogs Adornado will call the shots for the Patriots. "We made a lot of miscues down the stretch, especially on defense," said Alas of their last game. "Hopefully, we could regain the same level of play when we used to win games with just one import." The Patriots and the KL Dragons will meet for the first time since their semifinal showdown last season which was won by the Filipinos via a two-game sweep. Rashiem Wright is expected to make up for a disappointing seven-point performance the last time. He debuted with 24 points against the Singapore Slingers two weeks ago but was ineffective against the Slammers after straining his hamstring. Donald Little, the team’s other import, must again assert his power inside the paint but should limit his turnovers. Little had 18 points, 20 rebounds and three blocks but committed 10 turnovers The locals – led by Egay Billones, Chito Jaime, Allan Salangsang and Warren Ybanez – must also hit their outside shots to repeat their mastery over the Malaysians, who recovered from a 0-3 start by winning four of their last five games. – KY/JVP, GMANews.TV