Alab Pilipinas escapes late Saigon Heat rally

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Alab Pilipinas halted Saigon Heat’s fierce rally late in the fourth to pull-off a much-needed victory at home, 82-75, in the ASEAN Basketball League.

Enjoying their largest lead of 23, Alab Pilipinas had to fend off Saigon as they caught fire in the last frame to cut the lead to just 4, forcing coach Jimmy Alapag to call a timeout.

After the timeout, Alab got some breathing room after the play designed for scoring machine Nick King resulted in an easy score for Sam Deguara who was open underneath.

It was all Alab in the first half as they went on a scoring frenzy off of a waxing hot King and Jeremiah Gray who continued to torch Saigon from all over the court.

King contributed 26 huge points, 12 rebounds, 5 dimes, and 4 steals while Gray added 13 points and 6 rebounds.

Deguara also played a steady game as he was unstoppable in the paint, sealing defenders at ease to finish the game with 15 points while converting a very efficient 7 out of his 8 field goal attempts.

With the win, Alab Pilipinas moves up to the number two spot with a 10-4 record, tied with the Taipei Fubon Braves.