MANILA – San Miguel-Alab Pilipinas moved closer to the 2018 ASEAN Basketball League crown with a 99-93 win over Mono Vampire of Thailand in Game 3 of the finals at Stadium 29 in Bangkok.
Tournament MVP awardee Bobby Ray Parks Jr. led Alab on Saturday night with 30 points. Justin Brownlee added 27 markers while Renaldo Balkman had 24 points and 16 rebounds.
Alab can capture the championship if it repeats a victory over Vampire at its home floor Monday night.
Trailing 60-65 early in the third period, Alab started its move with conversions from Parks, Brownlee and Balkman to surge to its largest lead in the match 85-74 on a Balkman dunk.
Vampires never wavered and went on a last push to come to as close as 90-93 but back-to-back conversions from Parks followed by a layup by Lawrence Domingo clinched the win for Alab.
“I’ve said a lot this season but I’m just really proud of these guys. They’ve been a resilient group the entire season,” said Alab head coach Jimmy Alapag. “Tonight was just another opportunity to show that.”
Michael Singletary led the way with 29 points while 7-foot-5 center Samuel Deguara was held down to 19 points and 14 rebounds and Filipino import Paul Zamar had 16 points for Vampires./PN
