THE AIRASIA PHILIPPINE Patriots and the San Miguel Beermen turned to their local players to eke out wins over their respective opponents in the Asean Basketball League at the Ynares Sports Arena and in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
The Patriots bucked the absence of import Anthony Johnson and defensive stalwart Ardy Larong to defeat the Saigon Heat on the road, 73-57.
The Beermen, on the other hand, avenged their loss early in the season to the Singapore Slingers by winning, 75-65.
Johnson and Larong were serving their suspensions stemming from the brawl that happened in their game against the Beermen.
Still, the Patriots had more than enough firepower as they got solid contributions from grizzled veteran Kiko Adriano and point guard Al Vergara for their second win on this three-game road swing.
Aldrech Ramos, Jonathan Fernandez, Warren Ybanez and Rob Wainwright were also key in both ends as the Patriots improved to a league-best 9-2 (win-loss) record.
The Beermen also leaned on their local players as well as their imports Jarrid Famous and Dalron Johnson to pick up the victory./Correspondent Jonas Panerio