Paul Freelend

Satria Muda Outmuscled And Outgunned by Patriots

San Juan, Philippines. Like the Asean Basketball League in which it competes, Satria Muda Britama is still a work in progress.

A complete game again eluded the Indonesian champion as it fell 81-69 to the league-leading Philippines Patriots on Saturday in San Juan. Only five Satria Muda players scored at the Filoil Flying V Arena in a contest that tailed off dramatically toward the end.

Much of Satria Muda’s pregame optimism rode on the shoulders of 6-foot 9-inch American import Nakiea Miller, who was drafted in midway through the season. He put together a solid evening with 20 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots, but help was hard to find.

“The aggressiveness was lost. Players have to go get the ball on the long rebounds, but they just waited for Nakiea to get the ball,” Satria Muda coach Fictor Roring said. “Maybe we were tired, but I need to watch the video first.”

The visitor’s half-court zone had the desired effect in the first half, clogging the lane and keeping the threat from Patriots center Jason Dixon to a minimum.

In addition to pushing the Philippines to the perimeter, active hands in the middle forced nine first-half turnovers and kept the Patriots out of their offensive rhythm.

Beginning a theme that ran throughout the game, though, the Patriots had an answer for whatever Satria Muda threw at them. They punctured the visitor’s early momentum by ending the first quarter on a 7-0 run, and they ran off a similar flurry after an Alex Hartman 3-pointer gave the Indonesian side a 43-40 lead early in the third quarter.

Hartman stepped to the fore again late in the third, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers with Satria Muda down 60-48. The Patriots responded just as quickly, pulling back five of those points in a run capped by Rob Wainright’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

“Defensive pressure and double-teaming Miller were the key,” Patriots coach Louie Alas said. “We kept them below 70 points and that was our target.”

Hartman finished with a game-high 24 points to go with five rebounds and three assists. Filipino import Rensy Bajar had seven points and six assists, with Satria Muda’s Indonesian contingent contributing a combined 18 points.

“We need scoring from the local players. We only had five players score,” Fictor said.

Faisal Achmad was the best of the bunch, scoring 10 points, while Youbel Sondakh had an unusual line for a guard — no points, one assist and 12 rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end.

Dixon led the Patriots (7-1) with 23 points and 14 rebounds, while Wainright scored 15 points and Brandon Powell had 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

The Philippines outrebounded Satria Muda (4-5) 51-44, grabbing 18 offensive rebounds.

“The problem wasn’t the defense. We never could get the rebounds,” Fictor said. “In the third quarter, 50 percent of [the Patriots’] misses they got back. That was the problem.”

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