Busy Alab stretch 'part of the challenge' says Alapag

Jimmy Alapag looks at the positive in this stretch of three games in six nights bouncing around three cities. ABL

By Ivan Saldajeno

STA. ROSA, Laguna—Alab Pilipinas coach Jimmy Alapag admitted that his team did not have a proper preparation against Singapore in their ABL showdown at the Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Sports Complex here on Sunday night.

It was understandable, though, Alab were just two nights cut off from their overtime thriller win over Mono Vampire in Nonthaburi.

[Related Story: Alab crawls back to stun Mono on the road]

"We just got back from Thailand the other night," Alapag told Dugout Philippines.

The lack of preparation for possible surprise attacks from the Slingers was evident late in the third quarter, when Alab lost a lead as high as 16 points and were looking at a four-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Alab recovered late in the period and sizzled late in overtime to take an 86-77 victory.

[Related Story: Alab repulses Singapore in OT thriller]

"I was really happy with the effort and the focus," Alapag continued. "I'm really proud of the guys especially defensively down the stretch."

He then commended some of the key players who made the comeback win possible.

"Prince Williams hit a couple of big free throws, Sam [Deguara] had some big rebounds, and, of course, Jason [Brickman] just took over down the stretch.

However, the grind for Alab is not yet over as they were travel to Kuala Lumpur to face the Dragons on Tuesday night. According to Alapag, the team was to take an early flight to the Malaysian capital on Monday.

But for him, he would rather see Alab get in this kind of situation.

"That's part of the challenge when you're playing in the ABL," Alapag added. "I think games like this will help us moving forward as we get closer to the playoffs.

Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno