Game on December 1 (Ynares Sports Arena)
4 p.m. RP Patriots vs Thailand Tigers

The Philippine Patriots capitalized on the shorthanded Satria Muda BritAma of Indonesia to score a convincing 74-56 win for a share of the lead in the ASEAN Basketball League on Saturday at The Arena in San Juan.

Unlike their close encounter the first time they met in Jakarta, the Patriots put on an explosive second quarter before grabbing a commanding 29-point lead in the third period for the easy victory.

Rugged forward Jerwin Gaco, who missed last week’s game in Kuala Lumpur because of flu, led the Patriots with 13 points on top of four rebounds while import Jason Dixon hit 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

It was the fourth straight win by the Patriots who tied the Singapore Slingers for first with a 5-1 record.

"Our plan was to keep the score low and we were able to accomplish it,” said Patriots coach Louie Alas, who was not with the team when it beat the Indonesians for the first time, 76-69, last October 10.

The Indonesians played minus Nakiea Miller, who failed to join the team due to lack of travel document, forcing its other American import Alex Hartman to work double time.

But Hartman could score no more than 10 points.

Ronnie Gunawan topscored for the Indons, who fell to 3-4, with 11.

The Patriots will next face the Thailand Tigers on Dec. 1 at the Ynares Sports Arena before colliding with the Indons for the third time on Dec. 5.

The scores:
RP PATRIOTS 74 — Gaco 13, Dixon 12, Baclao 10, Espiritu 9, Wainwright 8, Powell 5, Daa 4, Ybanez 3, Mirza 3, Alcaraz 2, Baguion 2.
SATRIA MUDA BRITAMA 56 — Gunawan R. 11, Situmorang 10, Hartman 10, Achmad 8, Sitepu 7, Prihantono 6, Wijaya 0.
Quarters: 20-11, 43-24, 59-34, 74-56.