MANILA — Alab Pilipinas coach Mac Cuan had called out his players for their previous subpar performances. Fortunately, they responded well to his challenge, arresting a 2-game slide in the Asean Basketball League by squeezing out a 74-70 victory over the Saigon Heat at CIS Arena in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday.

Val Acuña torched the hoop by shooting 7 of 12 from behind the arc to finish with a career-high 23 points.

Providing additional firepower were import Sampson Carter and Lawrence Domingo who helped Alab get past the hump and avenge its 78-74 loss to Saigon.

“We just had to dig deep. I challenged my players. I also adjusted with my starting lineup because the last time, my starters came out flat. I shuffled it a little bit and good thing, Acuña stepped up,” Cuan said in the ABL’s official website.

Acuña's brightest moment came when his triple gave Alab a 69-65 cushion under 3 minutes to go. That shot gave his team enough breathing space to hold off Saigon.

“I’m just thankful for the trust and confidence my teammates are giving to me. I saw the shot clock winding down and I did not hesitate to take that shot,” Acuña said.

Alab stormed to an 11-2 advantage at the onset of the game. Despite a series of comebacks by the Heat, the Philippine-based team manage to maintain a 12-point gap by the end of the half.

But Saigon mounted a furious comeback as Moses Morgan fired 11 straight points to pull the Heat to within, 52-50, in the 3rd canto.

“I just reminded them how we got the lead in the first half. It was by getting stops and playing defense. We forgot about that for a while but we got back at it, and we were able to hold them off,” Cuan said.

“I just had to mix it up (defensively), going to a man and a zone to confuse them. I tried both to keep them guessing.”

As a result, Alab hiked its overall record to 9-6. The Heat dropped to 5-9.

Alab will next face the Westports Malaysia Dragons at home on Sunday at Santa Rosa Arena in Laguna.

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