In an atmosphere fit for a playoff game, Tanduay Alab Pilipinas showed incredible poise and maturity to pull out an 89-80 overtime win against the Singapore Slingers on Sunday at the OCBC Arena in Singapore.
It all capped off when Singapore’s AJ Mandani hit a gutsy three-pointer with 12.2 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime, 78-78.
In the extra period however, Alab showed why they are a team to be reckoned with this season. They limited the Slingers to just two points, while scoring 11 of their own. Justin Brownlee opened overtime with back-to-back baskets followed by a lay-up by Renaldo Balkman.
Ray Parks finally snuffed the life out of the OCBC Arena with a daredevil drive to the hoop for an and-one play, putting Alab up 9 with roughly a minute remaining.
Balkman finished the game with 26 points, 8 rebounds and was crucial on the defensive end with 4 steals and 2 blocks. Brownlee once again provided another all-around game of 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. And similar to Balkman, Brownlee was also huge on defense with 2 thefts and 2 rejections.
New import Chris Charles had a double-double performance of 22 points and 11 rebounds. The all-time leader in blocks worked his magic once again as he ended up with 4 swats. The only sour part of his Singapore debut was his 6 turnovers.
Xavier Alexander had a horrid shooting performance, finishing with just 10 points on 2-for-19 shooting.
Alab was in control of the fourth period before the Slingers pushed the game into overtime. Hanbin Ng converted on a four-point play with less than two minutes remaining but Robbie Celiz would answer with his own triple to put Alab ahead by three. That set the stage for the game-tying trey by Mandani. The Slingers comeback however would fell short eventually.
Tanduay Alab are now winners of three straight games and will look to make it four in a row when they face the Slingers again on Wednesday, January 10 in the Philippines.
SOURCE: http://aseanbasketballleague.com/alab-shuts-slingers-overtime-3rd-straight-win/
Alab Shuts Down Slingers in Overtime for 3rd Straight Win
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