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ABL: Hometown heroes, as Alab Pilipinas brings title back home

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/sports/05/02/abl-hometown-heroes-jc-2018-2018-050218.jpg"/><figcaption>San Miguel Alab Pilipinas became the third Filipino club to win the ASEAN Basketball League championship. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>San Miguel Alab Pilipinas rained threes and throwdowns on a night when the ultimate prize was on the line.Befittingly, a shower of confetti and a spot on the mountaintop capped an entertaining night and a season that literally started from the bottom.Renaldo Balkman scored 32 points and Justin Brownlee added 24 and a near triple-double, as Alab Pilipinas cruised past Mono Vampire 102-92 to win the ASEAN Basketball League championship at Santa Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex in Laguna on Wednesday.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/02/18/watch-meet-brownlee-and-balkman-alabs-own-smash-brothers">WATCH: Meet Brownlee and Balkman, Alab’s own ‘Smash Brothers’</a></li></ul>It is the first ABL title by a Filipino club since the San Miguel Beermen won it all in 2013, and the third overall.The Philippine Patriots won the inaugural championship in the 2009-10 season.Those previous title teams won the finals via 3-0 sweep; head coach Jimmy Alapag and this current crew needed to go the full 5 games, having to overcome a stubborn, worthy opponent in Mono Vampire.Balkman scored the game&#x27;s first pair of baskets, then it didn&#x27;t take long for Alab Pilipinas to run away from the visitors.Fueled by a fired-up crowd that filled the Santa Rosa arena to the rafters, Alab displayed its unselfishness on the offensive end, and quickness and tenacity on both sides of the floor to take a 27-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.Mono cut the deficit down to 5, 54-49, early in the third quarter but 3-pointers by Ray Parks Jr., Paolo Javelona and Josh Urbiztondo extended Alab&#x27;s lead 65-51.At that point, in front of a deafening horde of supporters waving the national flag, Alab didn&#x27;t let up and it was a matter of minutes before the coronation became official. If someone had told Alapag early in the season that his team would win the title, he would&#x27;ve taken it as a joke.Alab languished in the cellar in the first few weeks, as the pre-season favorites from China and Hong Kong bared their teeth. After the Christmas holiday, the break that Alab had prayed for was gift-wrapped to them in the form of Brownlee and Balkman, who came in to replace the team&#x27;s underperforming World imports.With the two of them leading the way for the Filipino squad, Alapag and co. finished third in the standings, then upset Christian Standhardinger and defending champion Hong Kong Eastern in the semis to reach the championship series.For their final act on Wednesday, Brownlee and Balkman filled the stat sheet and the highlight reel.Brownlee also tallied 12 rebounds and 9 assists, while Ray Parks Jr., adjudged the finals MVP, contributed 13 points for Alab, which shot 39 of 75 from the field for a blistering 52% clip.In the end, Alab assisted on 30 of 39 field goals and cut down its turnovers to 10, a far cry from the 26 the team committed in a sloppy Game 4 loss.Mike Singletary led Mono Vampire with 32 points, but the Thailand club couldn&#x27;t get much out of its backcourt.Paul Zamar, the former PBA draft pick who scored the winning bucket in Game 4, registered 19 points, but was just 4 of 14 from the floor and 2 of 10 from behind the arc. Jason Brickman, the American playmaker with Filipino roots who has expressed his intent to join the PBA rookie draft this year, settled for 9 points on top of 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 turnovers.Sam Deguara, Mono Vampire&#x27;s towering big man, registered 24 points and 18 rebounds despite playing with a bandaged eye that was poked inadvertently.(For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.)

Renaldo Balkman scored 32 points and Justin Brownlee added 24, as Alab Pilipinas beat Mono Vampire 102-92 to win the title Wednesday.

Renaldo Balkman scored 32 points and Justin Brownlee added 24, as Alab Pilipinas beat Mono Vampire 102-92 to win the title Wednesday.