The Patriots closed out the calendar year with an impressive 80-73 victory over the struggling Singapore Slingers at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City to register their second straight victory.

Sparked by the return of import Gabe Freeman, local guard Egay Billones and 6-foot-9 reinforcement Steve Thomas, the Patriots of co-owners Mikee Romero and Tony Boy Cojuangco improved to eight wins and four defeats.

Coach Louie Alas hopes to see the Patriots, who still had practices in-between the Christmas celebration, keep their winning form when they meet the Slammers at 5 p.m. Manila time, a game that will be televised live on ESPN.

"We lacked the intensity and the defensive mentality after our previous win but hopefully we could be able to be consistent in those areas and also avoid the possibility of playing rusty because of the long break," said Alas.

It will be the third meeting of the season for both teams and this will play a crucial role in their bids to wrest the top spot in the semifinals since the outcome determines the tiebreaker should they cap the 15-game elimination round schedule with similar records.

The Patriots and the Slammers, toting a 9-3 card after beating the struggling Brunei Barracudas on Dec. 22, split their first two games of the season-series with each team winning on the road.

Behind former import Anthony Johnson who was then nagging a hamstring injury, the PH cagers hacked out a 54-48 win in Bangkok on Oct. 23. In the return match on Nov. 20, the Slammers eked out a 69-68 win behind a triple by Piyapong Piroon.

The Slammers will bank on import James Dixon, Piroon, Filipino recruit Froilan Baguion and 2009 MVP Attaport Lertmalaiporn, while Chito Jaime, Junjun Cabatu, Warren Ybanez and Benedict Fernandez will lend a hand to the Patriots’ cause.

Jonas Terrado, Manila Bulletin