By Ivan Stewart Saldajeno – PNA
STA. ROSA, Laguna — Alab Pilipinas began its ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) title defense on a high note, blasting CLS Knights, 94-67, at the Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Sports Complex on Sunday night.
Alab opened the game with a 7-0 run and never looked back from there.
Renaldo Balkman dropped 33 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three steals, and three blocks for Alab.
Newcomer PJ Ramos added 20 points on four triples, 13 rebounds, and five assists.
Maxie Esho put up 20 markers, eight rebounds, four assists, and one steal for CLS, which fell to 1-4.
Box Scores:
Alab Pilipinas 94 – Balkman 33, Ramos 20, Parks Jr. 10, Domingo 6, Rosser 6, Alvano 5, Tiongson 4, Javelona 4, Urbiztondo 3, Torres 3, Alabanza 0, Rivero 0
CLS Knights 67 – Esho 20, Hurt 19, Utomo 12, Brandon 7, Baskoro 3, Jawato 2, Wong 2, Panagan 2, Kurniawan 0, Hidayat 0, Nugroho 0
Quarterscores: 23-14, 46-27, 74-67, 94-67
