Brickman snaps out of scoring hiatus in Alab victory

NONTHABURI, THAILAND —Rebuilding a formidable team was always going to be a challenge for San Miguel Alab Pilipinas coach Jimmy Alapag in the Asean Basketball League.

Acquiring premier playmaker Jason Brickman was tipped to make the task easier, but with the Filipino-American guard still finding his feet early in Season 10, Alapag also knew he had to be patient.

“I have so much confidence in Jason, but my thing with him is I want him to be more aggressive offensively,” said Alapag, who was known as a dynamic scorer and an elite passer during his playing days.

“He (Brickman) puts in the time and effort with his shooting and I just want him to be a threat as a scorer and as someone who distributes the basketball.”

Averaging just 7.2 points in his first 10 games, the 5-foot-8 Brickman finally came out of his shell, torching former team Mono Vampire with a career-best 32 points as Alab hammered out a 100-92 overtime win at Stadium 29 here.

Brickman, who took just 14 shots, also had eight rebounds and eight assists, forming a lethal 1-2 punch with import Nick King down the stretch as Alab rallied from a 56-73 deficit in the second half to post its seventh win in 11 games.

King, who was held to just six points in a 102-89 loss to Mono last Sunday in Caloocan, bounced back with 26 points. “This was a big game for us coming off a loss at home and I just wanted to be aggressive,” Brickman said.

“We’ve had our ups and downs this season and we’re still trying to build our chemistry.” Brickman, who led Mono to the finals two seasons ago, fired 23 of his output in the fourth quarter and in overtime, silencing the crowd at his former homecourt.

His triple with 1:37 remaining in overtime gave the visiting team a 97-88 advantage. “I think, with Jason, it’s not a numbers thing,” said Alapag, referring to Brickman, who averages almost 10 assists per game.