A depleted San Miguel Alab Pilipinas ran out of steam in the final period as it absorbed a 71-79 defeat to Formosa Dreamers on Sunday in the battle of Asean Basketball League leaders at Changhua Stadium in Taiwan.
Reigning local MVP Ray Parks delivered 27 points, but it wasn’t enough as the reigning champions struggled to cope with the absence of Renaldo Balkman, Caelan Tiongson, Lawrence Domingo and Brandon Rosser.
Balkman did not travel with the team after suffering a concussion in the win over Macau Black Bears last Friday, while Tiongson, Domingo and Rosser were all sidelined by injuries, leaving Alab with only nine players for the game.
Still, coach Jimmy Alapag’s charges remained on top with an 18-5 record, but Formosa’s win allowed the Taiwanese team to cut into Alab’s lead in the race for the No. 1 seed to just one full game at 17-6.
With Parks, Ethan Alvano and Puerto Rican import PJ Ramos carrying the load, Alab stayed within striking distance until the final three minutes when Formosa finally tightened up defensively.
The Filipino ballclub actually led 62-59 after three quarters only to fizzle out in the payoff period.