 |
Too big and too strong. Samuel Deguara was literally the biggest difference as Mono Vampire tied the ABL Finals with a game 2 win. ASEAN Basketball League
|
STA. ROSA, LAGUNA -- Sam Deguara shows that you cannot teach height as Mono Vampire stole the homecourt advantage away from Alab Pilipinas with a pulsating 103-100 squeaker in Game 2 of the ABL Finals on Wednesday night at the city's Multipurpose Complex.
The seven-foot-five Maltese beanpole comes up big with a monster performance as he dominated the paint with 30 points and a whopping 20 boards to silence the raucous Laguna crowd to bring the title series to Thailand even at one game apiece.
Despite committing his fourth foul with 8:50 left in the final frame Deguara still asserted his presence at the paint to fire his final 10 points, including a back-breaking three-point play with 1:12 remaining.
More importantly, Mono had the golden chance to snag the title in front of their own fans in the pivotal third game set on Saturday at their own Stadium 29 floor.
Co-Defensive Player of the Year Renaldo Balkman played the entire game to lead all scorers with 37 to go along with his 12 boards with back-to-back Local MVP Bobby Ray Parks backstopping the Puerto Rican big man with 21 points but coach Jimmy Alapag simply had no answers for Deguara to lose for the first time against the Vampire all season.
Justin Brownlee failed to duplicate his Game 1 heroics when the defense of Michael Singletary reduced him to just 14 points while his last-second try beyond the arc at the end game rattled out of the rim.
The Scores:
Mono Vampire 103 -- Deguara 30, Singletary 26, Brickman 12, Apiromvilaichai 12, Zamar 12, Chanthachon 4, Klahan 4, Sunthonsiri 0.
Alab 100 -- Balkman 37, Parks 21, Brownlee 14, Urbiztondo 14, Javelona 6, Domingo 4, Alabanza 2, Hontiveros 2, Raymundo 0.
Quarter scores: 24-20, 52-45, 78-73, 103-100.
Despite committing his fourth foul with 8:50 left in the final frame Deguara still asserted his presence at the paint to fire his final 10 points, including a back-breaking three-point play with 1:12 remaining.
More importantly, Mono had the golden chance to snag the title in front of their own fans in the pivotal third game set on Saturday at their own Stadium 29 floor.
Co-Defensive Player of the Year Renaldo Balkman played the entire game to lead all scorers with 37 to go along with his 12 boards with back-to-back Local MVP Bobby Ray Parks backstopping the Puerto Rican big man with 21 points but coach Jimmy Alapag simply had no answers for Deguara to lose for the first time against the Vampire all season.
Justin Brownlee failed to duplicate his Game 1 heroics when the defense of Michael Singletary reduced him to just 14 points while his last-second try beyond the arc at the end game rattled out of the rim.
The Scores:
Mono Vampire 103 -- Deguara 30, Singletary 26, Brickman 12, Apiromvilaichai 12, Zamar 12, Chanthachon 4, Klahan 4, Sunthonsiri 0.
Alab 100 -- Balkman 37, Parks 21, Brownlee 14, Urbiztondo 14, Javelona 6, Domingo 4, Alabanza 2, Hontiveros 2, Raymundo 0.
Quarter scores: 24-20, 52-45, 78-73, 103-100.
Follow him on Twitter: @KevinLEstrada
.JPG)
.jpg)
