Lonchi Kuete of the Kuala Lumpur Dragons struggles to shoot over Nonoy Baclao (center) and Brandon Powell of the RP Patriots during their game Saturday in the ABL Championship at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig. The Patriots won, 76-60. (Tony Pionilla)

Game Monday (Ynares Sports Arena)
6 p.m. — RP Patriots vs Brunei Barracudas

The Philippine Patriots try to get back at Brunei Barracudas when they clash Monday in the 1st ASEAN Basketball League at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

In what could have been the biggest upset of the six-nation league, the Barracudas snapped the Patriots’ six-game winning streak with a masterful 95-70 victory last week in Bandar Seri Begawan to boost their own bid to enter the semifinals.

Brunei import Mike Pilgrim was so ecstatic with the win that he even described it in the local newspaper Brunei Times as “the mother of all victories.”

Patriots coach Louie Alas, however, shrugged it off.

“Maybe it’s true because we were never expected to lose that big,” Alas said. “But we will try to play as hard as we can to beat them.”

The Patriots are coming off a hard-fought 76-70 win over the Kuala Lumpur Dragons last Saturday that saw American import Brandon Powell breaking out of his offensive slump, firing 20 points, 13 of which came in the first half.

Powell was a huge disappointment against the Barracudas the last time out, making just three points before breathing fire against the Dragons.

“I told him to bounce back because he's an import and he should forget about his age and be matured,” Alas said of the 22-year-old Powell. “But I hope he would continue his impressive play.”