MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Patriots are off to a good start in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) as they outplayed Malaysia’s KL Dragons in the playoffs at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City Sunday.

According to the ABL website, the Patriots clinched Game 1 of the best-of-three semifinal series, 77-43.

Gabe Freeman and Jason Dixon both had double-double outputs. Freeman made 15 points and 11 rebounds while Dixon had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

The Patriots will aim to end the series on Wednesday at the MABA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. Should the Dragons even the series, Game 3 will be played at the Ynares Sports Arena on Sunday.

In the other semifinal, the Singapore Slingers got past Indonesia’s Satria Muda BritAma, 87-68 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Game 2 will be held on Wednesday at the BritAma Arena in Jakarta.