Patriots rue lack of tall, talented reinforcements

JAKARTA—Bigger and better imports.

For coach Glenn Capacio, that’s what the AirAsia Philippine Patriots need to reclaim their lofty billing in the Asean Basketball League.

“We really need two bigs,” said Capacio. “We need imports who are dominating inside and hard working.”

Powered by the hulking duo of Steve Thomas and Evan Brock, the Indonesia Warriors sent the second-ranked Patriots packing with a surprise 2-0 semifinal sweep here over the weekend.

With the shock exit, the Patriots will miss the championship round for the first time since bagging the 2010 inaugural crown and finishing runner-up last year.

Capacio said the Patriots had no answer for the intimidating Thomas, who averaged 18 points and 17 rebounds, and Brock, who normed 12 markers and 10 boards in the series.

The Patriots’ athletic yet lean duo of Nakiea Miller and Anthony Johnson had a combined average of 13.5 points and 10 rebounds

“Our locals, they’ve been practicing really hard,” said Capacio. “Local-wise, I think we’re still number one. We have the talent and we have good chemistry. But we need imports who are bigger and taller.”

With the Patriots gone, the Philippines is now pinning its campaign on the San Miguel Beermen, who are tied with the Westports Malaysia Dragons, 1-1, in their own best-of-three series.

The Beermen and the Dragons will fight for the last title berth in a winner-take-all Game 3 on Saturday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

“I still want to have a Filipino team in the finals,” said Capacio. “We still have to have that pride in Southeast Asia.”