Alab Pilipinas dumps CLS Knights behind Renaldo Balkman, PJ Ramos

Photo from ASEAN Basketball League

MANILA, Philippines — Defending champion San Miguel Alab Pilipinas had a dominant debut in a 94-67 whipping of CLS Knights Indonesia in the 2019 Asean Basketball League Sunday night at Sta. Rosa Sports Complex in Laguna.

Alab was the last team to play this season and its masterful performance made it worth the wait.

Returning Alab reinforcement Renaldo Balkman and new import PJ Ramos proved too much for the Knights as they combined for 53 points and 24 rebounds.

It was a wire-to-wire win for Alab, which scored the game’s first seven points and led by 30 points in the fourth quarter.

Ray Parks, the reigning two-time local MVP, had 10 points while newly-acquired Caelan Tiongson did a little bit of everything with four points, eight rebounds, seven assists, one steal and a block for Alab.

Alab banked on an efficient and potent offense and stifling defense to overwhelm the Knights, who shot just 38 percent from the field.

The Filipinos shot 48 percent from the field, including 14-of-35 shooting from long range, and assisted on 33 of their 37 made field goals with only 10 turnovers.

The Knights, led by big men Maxie Esho and Stephen Hurt, dropped to 1-4 and 0-3 on the road.