Dragons’ ABL title hopes gone after Game 2 loss

PETALING JAYA: Westports Malaysia Dragons again fell short in the must-win Game 2 of the Asean Basketball League (ABL) Finals, going down 67-73 to the HiTech Bangkok City at the Thai Japanese Stadium in Bangkok.

And it was former Dragons player Patrick Cabahug who starred for HiTech, producing a game high 23 points to lead the Thai side to the title with a 2-0 sweep in the best-of-three series.

The Dragons, who blew their home-court advantage by losing 77-93 in Game 1 last Saturday, were desperate to win in Tuesday’s game and came out firing in the first quarter with shooter Loh Shee Fai sinking two three pointers in quick succession.

The good run gave the Dragons a slender 20-15 first-quarter lead and they stretched the lead to 38-32 at half-time.

But with star point guard Avery Scharer still feeling the effects from a concussion he suffered after clashing with Cabahug in Game 1 and lead scorer Chris Eversley horribly off the pace, the Dragons started to wilt in the third quarter.

With Jerick Canada dictating play and Chris Charles and Steve Thomas dominating the paint, Bangkok went ahead 56-54 by the end of the third period.

In the final quarter, 2010 champions HiTech dominated play to win by six points.

Canada was named the Most Valuable Player of the Finals as he contributed 18 points while Charles had 15 points and 19 rebounds.