INQUIRER Sports

The Philippine Patriots came away with the first-ever ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) title after defeating the Satria Muda Britama, 75-67, in Game 3 of the best-of-five championship series yesterday at the Britama Arena in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Showing nerves of steel, the Patriots were unfazed in the face of the hostile territory as they turned to burly import Jason Dixon for the goods, en route to a 3-0 sweep of the Indons.

The 6-foot-10 import delivered, scoring 28 points to offset the struggles of fellow import, Gabe Freeman.

Dixon scored six free-throws in the second period in an upsurge by the Patriots that gave them the lead, 35-31. He also 12 rebounds for his 15th double-double performance while Freeman had 17 markers and 19 boards.

Patriots head coach Louie Alas also tasted his first title in quite a long time. The last time Alas won a championship was back in the 2005 when he steered the Letran Knights to victory.

Team owner Mikee Romero continued his title spree as the crown was his seventh in a row after capturing seven straight in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) with the Harbour Centre and Oracle Residences franchises. Correspondent Jonas Panerio