Dragons deal Patriots 2nd straight setback in ABL

KUALA LUMPUR — The Westports KL Dragons turned to one of their Filipino imports in dealing the Philippine Patriots their second straight setback in the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League Season 2 at the MABA Stadium here. Former UAAP hotshot Patrick Cabahug sparked the Dragons'' onslaught by hitting all his four three-point shots in the first half, enough to boost the Malaysians to a 96-81 win over the defending champions. Cabahug finished with 23 points for the Dragons, who led by as many as 26 points over the error-prone Patriots. The second straight loss absorbed by the Patriots dropped them to second place in the standings with a 6-3 card. The Dragons forged a tie with the Singapore Slingers for third to fourth places with identical 5-4 slates. Nakiea Miller and Alex Hartmann, who both played for Satria Muda BritAma of Indonesia last season, finished with 24 and 20 points, respectively. Miller was a solid presence all game long, adding 19 rebounds and six blocks before fouling out. Patriots import Rasheim Wright bounced back from a disappointing seven-point output in last week's loss to the Slammers at home. He tallied 31 points, four rebounds and two steals this time. Wright shot 5-of-8 from the 3-point zone, but he didn't get the needed support from the rest of the team, especially from fellow import Donald Little. The 6-foot-10 Little finished with 16 points, but had only six in the second half. "They (KL) shot well from the outside and we failed to gain enough momentum to come back," said coach Bogs Adornado, who joined the coaching staff led by fellow assistant Ryan Dy in temporarily taking over the coaching chores from head coach Louie Alas. Alas missed the game because of a flu. The Patriots figured in a near brawl after four altercations occurred in the third quarter, with the Filipinos down by as many as 15 points. One altercation between the Patriots’ Allan Salangsang and Miller led to a fan throwing a water bottle that hit guard Warren Ybanez in the head. The suspected thrower, seated in the VIP area, was ejected with 4:07 left in the third period and KL ahead, 61-40. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV