Freeman suffered bloodied lips with 3:50 left in the first period after a hard foul from Barracudas’ Leo Avenido.
The 6'6" reinforcement, who was playing only his second game for the team, got hot under the collar and needed to be sent into the bench to cool down.
That breathing spell apparently helped Freeman regain his focus and once he was summoned back into the court in the second period, he immediately took charge and the Patriots seized control.
From a 17-18 deficit, the Patriots zoomed ahead to 43-35 at halftime as Freeman exploded with 12 markers, laced with two triples and easy incursions.
"He (Freeman) was really mad because he felt that he was given a cheap shot. But after he cooled down, he himself told me that if they will continue to try and hurt him, he will get back at them by scoring points. That's the leadership he is bringing to this team," said Patriots coach Louie Alas.
Freeman went on to finish with 20 points and 21 rebounds aside from issuing four assists and pulling off two steals in 32 minutes of exposure.
His tenacity on the court rubbed off on his teammates as Jason Dixon added 12 points and 14 rebounds with five assists and two steals while Warren Ybañez chipped in 11 markers with five boards, seven feeds and two swipes.
The other local players contributed on the defensive end especially in the third period when the Patriots held the Barracudas to just nine points to break the game open, 63-44.
The victory was the Patriots’ eighth straight at home for 11-4 overall and more importantly, it rewarded the team with the No. 1 spot after the eliminations and the much-needed home court advantage throughout the Playoffs.
The Barracudas fell to a 6-9 record and joined Thailand Tigers (3-12) in the exits.
Kuala Lumpur Dragons, who won over Satria Muda BritAma of Indonesia last Saturday, 70-67, will play the Patriots in the best-of-three semifinal series which starts next Sunday at the Ynares Sports Arena.
Singapore Slingers prevailed over the Tigers, 92-78, in the other match, rounding out the elimination Sunday to finish second place with 10-5. The Slingers will enjoy the home court advantage in their own semis tussle with Indonesia.
"The Dragons are the number one defensive team in this league. They have defeated us by 18 points in our last meeting (77-59) in their own turf. So we really have to work hard in the next four days to perfect our offensive and defensive plays," Alas said.
Filipino Don Camaso led the Barracudas with 19 points and seven rebounds while import Larry Regie added 17 points and 10 boards with two blocks.
But new Australian import in Simon Conn who replaced Michael Pilgrim, wound up a disappointment as he finished with just 10 points, five caroms and three assists.
The scores:
RP PATRIOTS 87 - Freeman 20, Dixon 12, Ybanez 11, Gaco 9, Wainwright 8, Sta Maria 6, Acuna 6, Alcaraz 4, Baclao 4, Mirza 4, Baguion 3, Espiritu 0.
BRUNEI 65 - Camaso 19, Larry 17, Avenido 15, Conn 10, Adriano 4, Tan 0, Lim 0, Ho 0.
Quarters: 17-18; 43-35; 63-44; 87-65.
Source: Author Unknown | gmanews.tv
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