For San Miguel Alab Pilipinas to keep their hopes of making it to the top two alive, they need to take care of business in their last two games. They might be taking on an eliminated team to close out their elimination round schedule but they can’t look past the CLS Knights Indonesia as the newbies in the ABL have won their last two games and would want nothing else than to add a big name to their list of victims in their maiden season.
The first of the two matches will happen in Caloocan at 8:00 PM as Alab attempts to carry their momentum from their huge bounce back victory against the Saigon Heat. In that contest, the Philippines-Based team got contributions from almost everyone with Justin Brownlee leading the charge with 24 points, 13 rebounds, and four assists. Alab had an easy time handling the Heat as Brownlee made six of his seven attempts from the three-point area.
They also got contributions from the bench as second string guards Pamboy Raymundo and Pao Javelona combined for 24 points, six rebounds, and five assists in the contest.
Alab will also rely on the steady contributions of Renaldo Balkman and last season’s Local MVP Ray Parks.
Balkman has done a little of everything for Alab as he averages 24.6 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.2 steals, and 2.1 blocks per contest while Parks has flown quietly under the radar this season but still norms a stead 14.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game.
Alab will have to find a way to stop Freddie Lish who exploded in their last game against the Westports Malaysia Dragons as he was named the Heritage Import Player of the Week. Lish dropped 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists in the game as he took care of the offensive end while Brian Williams was a rock on defense with 22 rebounds in the game.
It will also be a homecoming for Keith Jensen who used to play in the PBA. After putting his basketball career on hold, Jensen returns to the Philippines averaging 10.9 points and 4.4 rebounds for the Knights.
