TANDUAY-Alab Pilipinas hopes to extend its winning streak in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) as it goes up againts rival Singapore Slingers once again this Wednesday at the San Juan Arena.
The game, which will air live over S+A and S+A HD starting at 8 p.m., is third between Alab and Slingers this season, with the Philippine contingent edging the Singapore side in their last game, 89-80.New Alab world import Justin Brownlee was all over the place once more in last Sunday’s game as he poured in an all-around game of 17 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds, with majority coming in crunch time to give Alab its third straight win.
Fellow Alab import Renaldo Balkman chipped in 26 points, eight rebounds, four steals, and two blocks to lead the entire game in the scoring department while being the primary defender of the come backing Christien Charles.
Resident ABL analyst Marco Benitez believes that Alab can use the current run as a springboard to make a deeper run in the tournament and make a return to the semifinals despite a slow start.
“If Alab can continue to improve their chemistry and the support from the local players, having Brownlee and Balkman —both do-it-all imports —it will likely be able to carry them to the top 6 in the standings, enough to make it to the postseason. The major area of concern for Alab is on the rebounding end, as they will be facing teams, like Chong Son for instance, with taller and better rebounders. But if they can overcome that with their hustle and athleticism, then there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be able to compete against the best the ABL has to offer,” he said.
Benitez’s fellow analysts, Anton Roxas and Martin Javier agree with his assessment on Alab, especially now that the two world imports have their legs under them. Both believe that greater things are in store for Alab in the ABL’s ongoing wars.
“After a slow start, they’re riding a 3-game winning streak to begin 2018. If they’re able to sustain it, this kind of firepower can carry them to at least a semis and hopefully maximize the talent to get past top teams like Chong Son Kung Fu and defending champs, Hong Kong Eastern. The addition of their newest world imports and a very capable bench unit could be a recipe for success for Alab this year,” shared Javier.
“They (Brownlee and Balkman) have proven to be a winning combination so far and I expect them to continue playing well all throughout January. I will mark my calendar for January 31 though as Alab hosts the currently undefeated Chong Son Kung Fu at the Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex. That should be a very interesting contest,” Roxas said, echoing what Benitez pointed out.
The Slingers have dropped four of their last five games and hope to arrest their skid against their budding rivals in their duel tomorrow. The Slingers are in a must-win situation to salvage their position after dropping to 3-5 in the standings as the ABL playoffs are looming over the horizon.
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