By Jonas Terrado
Game Tuesday
(The Arena, San Juan)
4 p.m. — Alab Pilipinas vs Fubon
San Miguel Alab Pilipinas saw its four-game winning streak come to an end after falling 98-93 to the Macau Wolf Warriors in the ASEAN Basketball League Sunday night at The Arena in San Juan.
Nick King scored 33 points but it was not enough to lift San Miguel Alab Pilipinas to victory. (Photo from ABL)
The Wolf Warriors scored eight unanswered points after trailing 91-90 with 2:45 remaining in the fourth to avenge its 114-110 overtime loss to Alab last Nov. 27 in Foshan, China.
Alab dropped to solo second at 4-2 after a disappointing start to the new year.
It was also the first of a scheduled two-game homestand for Alab, which next faces Taiwanese side Fubon Braves on Tuesday at the same venue.
Veteran import Steve Thomas split his two free throws before Julian Boyd made a three-pointer from the top of the key to make it 94-91 for the Wolf Warriors, 2:01 left in the fourth.
Jason Brickman and Khalif Wyatt missed their attempts on the ensuing possession before Douglas Herring sank a jumper off Jeremiah Gray to extend Macau’s lead to 96-91 with 1:15 to go.
A broken play by Alab resulted in a turnover, allowing Zhi Keng Tang to add insult with a breakaway layup for 98-91, thus dealing coach Jimmy Alapag’s team its first home loss of the season.
Nick King scored 33 points but fellow import Khalif Wyatt, who played the hero’s role during the Alab streak, went cold as he made just 3-of-12 shots despite 15 points, sinking just one out of eight attempts from three-point range.
Wyatt’s struggles highlighted Alab’s woes from rainbow territory, going 7-of-27 overall. Alab entered the contest with a league-leading 38-percent clip.
Seven-foot-five Sam Deguara dealt with foul trouble before finishing with seven points and seven rebounds, his lowest output since replacing Adrian Forbes last month.
The scores:
WOLF WARRIORS 98 — Herring 21, Boyd 21, Cai 15, Ewing 13, Hu 11, Thomas 10, Tang 7, Shentu 0.
ALAB PILIPINAS 93 — King 33, Wyatt 15, Domingo 11, Gray 10, Ganuelas-Rosser 9, Brickman 7, Deguara 4, Vigil 4, Heading 0.
Quarters: 25-19; 47-47; 80-76; 98-93.
Source: Manila Bulletin
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