“I’m still very optimistic,” Alas said. “We lost the opportunity to get the No. 1 spot but the important thing now is to get the homecourt advantage in the semis.”

Despite the loss to the league-leading Chang Thailand Slammers on Sunday in Bangkok, the Patriots still have the opportunity to wrest the second spot in the semifinals.

With an 8-5 slate, the PH cagers need to beat the Westports KL Dragons and Satria Muda BritAma to get the No. 2 spot.

It won’t be an easy task, though.

They will meet the Dragons at home on Sunday in what could be a preview of the best-of-three semifinals. Both squads have split their first two games this season.

The Malaysians are toting a 7-5 record and were playing the Singapore Slingers at presstime.

Meantime, Alas said they are taking the team owners’ comments about their recent slide as constructive criticism.

Dr. Mikee Romero, who co-owns the team with Tony Boy Cojuangco, funnelled his disappointment on Wednesday, saying the Filipino cagers lacked intensity in their loss to the Slammers.

“It’s natural for a team owner to be disappointed after a loss,” Alas said. “I guess, sir Mikee is just challenging us to do a better job on the court and maybe we can use his statements as a motivation.”

The Patriots, led by imports Gabe Freeman and Steve Thomas and locals Egay Billones and Warren Ybanez, cap their elimination round campaign against Satria Muda on Jan. 15 in Jakarta.

Jonas Terrado, Manila Bulletin