MANILA -- Alab Pilipinas' bid of making the ABL semifinals outright hit a huge roadblock on Sunday as Malaysia scored a 90-89 win at the MABA Gymnasium in Kuala Lumpur.
Joshua Munzon hit the eventual game-winning free throw with 13 seconds left as the Dragons snapped Alab's league season-long eight-game winning streak and kept their own playoff hopes alive.
Alab was holding on to an 82-74 lead with 6:09 to go when Malaysia went on an 11-2 run to take an 85-84 advantage with 3:19 to go.
Josh Urbiztondo put Alab back up, 87-85, with a triple with 3:06 to go, and the team appeared to be holding off the Dragons down the stretch with only one free throw conceded within the last two minutes.
But Munzon fired a booming triple from beyond NBA range with 57.3 seconds to go to put Malaysia back up, 89-87.
Renaldo Balkman scored underneath with 47.2 seconds remaining to force the last deadlock of the game at 89-all.
Alab had a chance to regain the lead after forcing a turnover with 35.9 seconds left, but Justin Brownlee missed two free throws with 31.2 seconds remaining, opening a chance for the Dragons to go for the lead.
Looking to block Munzon's layup, Lawrence Domingo instead hacked Munzon mid-air, sending the latter to the line with eight seconds remaining.
Munzon made the first free throw to put Malaysia ahead, 90-89, but he missed the second, giving Alab one last chance to keep their winning streak alive.
Brownlee, after grabbing the rebound, rushed to their attack zone and found Dondon Hontiveros wide open from the right corner, but the latter muffed the potential game-winning triple as time expired.
Chris Eversley led the Dragons, who moved up to 5-10, two-and-a-half games behind the Saigon Heat for sixth place with five games left in their schedule, with 36 points, six rebounds, and one steal.
Munzon added 19 points, six rebounds, one assist, three steals, and two blocks.
Balkman finished with 33 points, 19 rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal for Alab, which fell to third place at 11-5, a half-game behind Mono Vampire for second place but stayed a full game ahead of Nanhai, which lost, 86-89, at Singapore. (PNA)
