The Philippine Patriots and the Satria Muda BritAma of Indonesia clash anew this Saturday in what many expected to be a bruising encounter in the ASEAN Basketball League at The Arena in San Juan.

Both teams will meet for the second time this season after opening the six-nation tournament with the Patriots winning 76-69 last Oct.10 in Jakarta.

Team officials, led by co-owners Mikee Romero, Tony Boy Cojuangco and team manager Erick Arejola, expect a tense and emotional showdown owing to their heated games in the past, including in the SEABA and SEA Games.

Like in their previous games, Romero and Arejola predict a victory for the Patriots.

“It’s going to be an exciting and emotional showdown,” said Arejola. “The Indons want to beat us, but I know the boys will not allow that to happen especially now the we’re going to play in our own turf.”

“They tried to intimidate our players but they did not succeed,” added Arejola. “Hopefully, we can avoid the skirmishes that happened in the first game.”

The Patriots have won their last three games to climb up to second spot with a 4-1 record thanks to a hard-fought 73-63 win over the KL Dragons last Sunday.