Just returned home from MABA Stadium, Kaula Lumpur where I bared painful witness to The Westsports KL Dragons going down in flames against the AirAsia Philippine Patriots; 92 - 95. For the second consecutive season the Patriots have the pleasure of celebrating winning the ABL Semi-Final Playoff series on the Dragons' home court. Ouch!
I was hoping the the Dragons would recapture some of the magic they discovered in the early and middle part of the season; but no such luck. The Truth of the matter is that the Dragons' performance took a dramatic down turn at season's end, and then soured completely with tonight's loss.
The Dragons were outplayed, out muscled, out rebounded, and out hustled the entire contest. Despite being out favored in most statical categories, they still had a chance to beat the Patriots, or at least draw even at game's end. The Dragons had possession of the ball with 1:03 left in the game; down 89 to 91. It was a golden opportunity to either tie the score, or go up by 1. The result of the possession was an ill advised pass from Rudy Lingganay to Nakiea Miller in heavy traffic. Miller lost control of the rock, which then trickled out of bounds. The Patriots proceeded to head down court and scored a coffin nailing 3-pointer from downtown. The scoring after that juncture was purely academic. The Dragons lost one wing in the Philippines, and the Patriots clipped the other tonight.
Top performers for the Dragons were Nakiea Miller; 24 points, 13 rebounds, Rudy Lingganay; 25 points, Justin Leith; 18 points, and Patrick Jan Manlawe Cabahug; 17 points.
I was hoping the the Dragons would recapture some of the magic they discovered in the early and middle part of the season; but no such luck. The Truth of the matter is that the Dragons' performance took a dramatic down turn at season's end, and then soured completely with tonight's loss.
The Dragons were outplayed, out muscled, out rebounded, and out hustled the entire contest. Despite being out favored in most statical categories, they still had a chance to beat the Patriots, or at least draw even at game's end. The Dragons had possession of the ball with 1:03 left in the game; down 89 to 91. It was a golden opportunity to either tie the score, or go up by 1. The result of the possession was an ill advised pass from Rudy Lingganay to Nakiea Miller in heavy traffic. Miller lost control of the rock, which then trickled out of bounds. The Patriots proceeded to head down court and scored a coffin nailing 3-pointer from downtown. The scoring after that juncture was purely academic. The Dragons lost one wing in the Philippines, and the Patriots clipped the other tonight.
Top performers for the Dragons were Nakiea Miller; 24 points, 13 rebounds, Rudy Lingganay; 25 points, Justin Leith; 18 points, and Patrick Jan Manlawe Cabahug; 17 points.
So what went wrong? Nothing a lesson on fundamental basketball wouldn't fix. The Dragons have talent, and they play with heart. But the team lacks mental fortitude and technical execution. The same issues that I have mentioned a dozen times before is what keeps the Dragons from getting over the hump. They don't execute well out of set-plays. Opposing teams are given too many second chance scoring opportunities, because the Dragons consistently fail to box out. The offense is primarily dribble and then shoot. Motion without the ball and swing passing is a viable option that seems to have escaped the team's attention. All these things represent essential skills needed to win championships. Heart and talent alone will not get the job done. It needs to be coupled with a high basketball I.Q.
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