The Patriots have won the inaugural ABL title after beating Satria Muda 75-67 in Game 3 of the Finals.
By Vincent Lai
Gabriel Freeman had an excellent all-around game with 17 points, 19 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals for the Patriots, while Jason Dixon dominated the paint with 28 points and 12 rebounds as well.
Rony Gunawan came up big for Satria Muda in Game 3, scoring 20 points on 8-11 shooting. Alexander Hartman added 14 points for the Indonesian side, but only shot 5-18 from the field.
Freeman was everywhere in the final game of the ASEAN Basketball League postseason, going after every single rebound like it would be his last, and attacking the basket aggressively any time he got hold of the ball.
"I played okay but I missed a lot of the shots I normally make," Freeman told ESPNSTAR.com after the game. "In the second half I changed my game, I went in [the paint] a little bit more, and I focused a lot more on defence."
"If my shots aren't falling, I'm going to get it on, on defence, that's what I do."
And the Patriots forward defended maniacally in Game 3, limiting gunslinger Hartman to a 28 percent field goal percentage for this game.
"My focus wasn't really on Alex," added Freeman. "But at the same time, I'm a defensive player, so I'm coming into the game to play defence."
The late-season addition also contributed the play of the game, a steal on Gunawan with less than a minute-and-a-half left in the game to effectively end SM's chances of a comeback.
"Definitely, it just took everything away from them," Freeman said about the steal. "I mean, it would have been different if they could have made the shot."
"So, vice versa, we got a steal, and we made the shot that changed the game. So I'm glad that we made that steal."
Freeman's pilfering halted a Satria Muda run that cut the Patriots lead of 16 points in half, a sequence that was made possible with SM import Nakiea Miller scoring seven points in five minutes, including a three-pointer that cut the score to 73-65.
What made this mini offensive stand amazing was that Miller had been floored earlier in the game after getting poked in the eye a little over five minutes after the tip-off. The centre spent a good five minutes on the floor writhing in agony before spending five on the bench trying to shake off the pain.
Miller even looked as if he could not see where the ball was upon re-entering the game in the second quarter, but recovered well enough to post 13 points and 7 blocks for the rest of the game.
"I think we played good in the beginning, specifically in the first quarter, but we got problems once Nakiea [Miller] [got poked] in the eye," Satria Muda coach Fictor Roring after the game. "I had to sit him, rest him about five to ten minutes, and he still had problems with his eye when he [returned]."
"I told him, ‘You just keep playing, just stand there, the rest of the players will step up,' but it was not enough, Nakiea [produced] under his averages."
"Nakiea going out [was] a big problem for us," added fellow import Hartman. "He is eighty percent of our rebounding and twenty percent of our points!"
"You can't take a guy like Nakiea out of our system like that, but he was hit pretty hard. I've seen his eye and he's got two cuts and a bruise."
However, Indonesia's local boys did well to step up when their imports could not deliver, with Gunawan scoring two crucial treys in the final quarter to help Satria Muda attempt a comeback, and Amin Prihantono scoring nine points in three minutes (in three consecutive possessions in the second quarter. Forward Youbei Sondakh ten rebounds to the cause, though giving up more than five inches and forty pounds against the mammoth Dixon.
"Gunawan player well, so did Prihantono, who sank his three pointers, and Sondakh played well too," hailed Coach Roring. "Not only in this game, but the locals also played well in the series in my opinion."
"The margin between the locals and the imports aren't as big as we thought, maybe."
But try as they might, Satria Muda could not overcome the physicality of Freeman and Dixon with a limited Miller, especially in the paint as the six-foot ten-inch Dixon had his way, piling up the points with an array of dunks, hook shots, and a sweet jumper that is almost automatic 15 feet in.
"Dixon is a big load, he can shoot the mid-range, and he can bang down low," Hartman said about his opponent after the game. "He can really bang on you and really wear on you. I only guarded him a few times and I can't imagine guarding him a full game."
"Nakiea [had] his job cut out for him man!"
With the major contributions of Freeman and Dixon, along with the physical defence of Jerwin Gaco, Christian Coronel and Robert Wainwright, the Patriots managed to hold off Satria Muda just enough in Game 3 to win the first ABL title in a three-game sweep.
Key Player
Jason Dixon may have scored more points, but it was the all-out display of Gabriel Freeman that sealed the game for the Patriots. The forward scored points mostly in the paint, rebounded out of his mind (he did have 19 in the game) and locked down Satria Muda's Alexander Hartman. The Patriots will do well to bring him back next season.
Key Number
19. Freeman's rebounds edge out the 5-18 shooting he held Hartman to, as every single one of those caroms either prevented a Satria Muda putback or an Indonesian fast break. Freeman's eight offensive rebounds also resulted in many of his 17 points.
Key Moment
Freeman's come-from-behind swipe to steal the ball from Rony Gunawan prevented a sure-fire lay-up and sealed the game for the Patriots. Freeman stole the ball, then saved it from going out-of-bounds as the Filipino team managed to get the ball into the hands of Robert Wainwright for the easy jumper.
View from the press row
The BritAma Arena was packed for this game and the crowd went wild as Gaco fouled hard Gunawan in the third quarter, resulting in the Indonesian player retaliating in anger. The Satria Muda fans rocked the venue as the benches emptied, but intervention from both teams' leaders and senior players prevented what could have been an ugly brawl. One bottle did manage to find its way onto the floor from the upper deck, with the SM faithful jeering the perpetrator.
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