Patriots ready to defend ABL crown

Philippine Patriots coach Louie Alas said they are ready to defend their title in the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) Season 2, which opened on Saturday.

The Thailand Slammers were battling the Kuala Lumpur Dragons at the Nimiburt National Stadium, Bangkok. The Patriots will take on the visiting Brunei Barracudas on Sunday at the Ynares Sports Center in Pasig City.

"I'm not yet impressed with our defense, we need to put on more teeth to be more competitive. Still, we’re ready to defend our title. Everybody is excited," said Alas, who added that they are still looking for ways on how to improve their defensive rotation.

One of Alas' concerns is import Donald Little, who needs to be more aggressive at the post to somehow lessen fellow reinforcement Anthony Johnson’s scoring load. Johnson, a former Sta. Lucia import in the PBA, is expected to be the team’s go-to-guy since he is an inside and outside scoring threat.

"He (Little) should be more aggressive," said Alas. “We have no problem offensive-wise since my medium sized players can shoot from the outside."

Offensive-wise, Alas has already figured out on how to rotate his players but his main concern is the team’s lack of certified big man.

"We really need a pure center but I’m hoping that Little will come up with a big show," said Alas. “We have to be more aggressive on the defensive end since the Barracudas are eager to beat us."

The Patriots are practically a new squad since only three from last year’s team – JP Alcaraz, Warren Ybanez and Erwin Sta. Maria – were retained. The rest are new but they’re all effective role players.

Veteran Allan Salangsang, Chito Jaime, Junjun Cabatu, and Harold Sta. Maria play the Nos. 3 and 4 positions but Alas said they can be offensive threats since they are capable of shooting from downtown.

Also in the team are shooting guard Benedict Fernandez, Orly Daroya, Egay Billiones, ex-pro Alex Crisano, Allein Malicsi, Parri Llagas and Kelvin Gregorio.

The Barracudas will be reinforced by three Filipinos – former pro Chester Tolomia, Bryan Faundo and Kevin White. They also have hard-working imports Chris Commons and Chris Garnett, who are both deadly in the shaded lane.

Also taking part in the tournament are the Kuala Lumpur Dragons, Singapore Slingers, Thailand Slammers and Indonesia’s Satria Muda BritAma. – JVP, GMANews.TV