SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – New venue, same result. Sort of.
For the second straight game, the San Miguel Alab Pilipinas defeated the CLS Knights Indonesia in a thrilling 88-80 overtime win at Surabaya, Indonesia on Sunday, December 16.
The Knights tried to bounce back from a 27-point beating, 67-94, in their last match but ultimately failed to protect home court.
After tying at 75 at the end of regulation, the defending champs ran out to a 7-0 run in the extra period, 84-78, ending with a Renaldo Balkman layup at the 53-second mark.
Balkman then brought the house down on the Knights’ heads with a punctuating dunk, 86-80, with 35 ticks left.
The former NBA player and reigning ABL Defensive Player of the Year finished with a monster 36-point, 12-rebound double-double with 4 steals on the side.
New 7-foot-3 reinforcement PJ Ramos also had a double-double finish of his own with 25 points and 11 boards.
Two-time Local MVP Ray Parks, Jr. skipped the 2018 PBA Rookie Draft and gave his current team a much-needed 10-point boost.
Much like their first encounter last week in Laguna, stellar imports Balkman and Ramos heated up early to put Alab at a comfortable 42-29 lead by halftime.
However, the hometown Knights came storming back in the 3rd off a game-tying 18-5 run, ending with a Montay Brandon layup at the 4:47 mark, 47-all.
After opening the 4th down two, 55-57, the homecrowd-boosted CLS soared ahead to as high as a sevem-point lead, 64-57, off a Maxie Esho and-one bucket with 8:41 left in regulation.
Alab momentarily seized the lead, 67-66, off a Balkman layup with 5:14 to go before Esho responded with a quick three, 69-67, at the 4:50 mark.
Both teams then fought to a 75-all stalemate after CLS failed to make good of their last shot in regulation.
The Scores
San Miguel Alab Pilipinas 88 – Balkman 36, Ramos 25, Parks 10, Alvano 7, Tiongson 5, Urzbiztondo 3, Javelona 2, Domingo 0, Rosser 0, Torres 0.
CLS Knights Indonesia 80 – Esho 30, Brandon 18, Wong 10, Kurniawan 10, Jawato 6, Hurt 6, Hidayat 0, Nugroho 0, Utomo 0.
Quarters: 19-11, 42-29, 57-55, 75-75 (reg.), 88-80 (OT).
– Rappler.com
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