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| Evan Brock kisses the 2012 AirAsia ABL trophy after the Warriors beat the Beermen in Game 3. |
INDONESIA WARRIORS over SAN MIGUEL BEERMEN, 78-76
The AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League’s exciting third season ended after a brand new champion was crowned at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City, Philippines. The game was everything the fans wanted. It was exciting and went down the wire.
In the end, it was The Indonesia Warriors who lifted the trophy as the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League 2012 Champions after hanging on to beat the San Miguel Beermen, 78-76.
Stanley Pringle played a good game and finished as the team’s leading scorer with 28 points, followed by Evan Brock with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Steve Thomas rounded off the Warriors’ top three with 10 points.
The Beermen’s Duke Crews also had a good game and finished as the game’s top scorer with 29 points, followed by Chris Banchero’s 16. Nick Fazekas rounded off the Beermen’s scorers with an 11-point and 16-rebound double-double.
Backed by a boisterous home crowd, the San Miguel Beermen got off to a quick start that earned them an 11-6 point lead heading out of the five minute mark in the first quarter. After a quick succession of shots in the fourth minute, however, the Warriors managed to cut the deficit to just one point before a Wuysang three-pointer put them ahead for the first time at 15-13 with 1:25 to go. The Warriors continued their shooting streak to head into the second quarter leading, 19-13.
Both teams came out strong in the second quarter and stepped up their games. The Beermen were still having problems finding the net in the opening minutes and a Pringle steal and basket at the six-minute mark gave the Warriors the first double-digit lead of the game at 28-18. The Beermen showed their composure on the court, though, and made several excellent steals to retain possession. They were able to cut the deficit to just five points heading into the second half.
A Crews dunk early in the third quarter set the Beermen back on track and Banchero’s basket at the eight minute mark saw the Beermen even things up at 38. The Warriors, however, were determined to make this game count and regained their double-digit lead heading into the final period, 64-53.
Stanley Pringle made a three-point a shot to give Warriors their biggest lead in the game, 70-57, with 6:44 left in the game, but the Beermen managed to put up their own 10-0 run to get back into it. Fajardo closed the gap with an important basket at 2:30 to see the scoreboard read 69-71 with the Warriors still up.
Unfortunately for the Beermen, Banchero, who had been great so far in the game, fouled out with two minutes left after committing his fifth personal foul on Pringle.
It was still anybody’s guess who would be lifting the trophy in the final thirty, nail-biting seconds of the game as only four points separated the teams. The Beermen held possession and Crews put in another important basket to bring it back to a one-possession game at 78-76, but Pringle was sent to the line again. Despite having converted 11 of his first 12 free throws in the game, Pringle missed both.
The door was open for the Beermen, but, unfortunately, Leo Avenido’s missed a lay-up that could’ve tied the game with seconds left. This forced them to foul Brock right away. Brock went to the line and missed both of his attempts, but it was enough to wind the clock down and ensure that the scoreboard remained unchanged at the final buzzer.
Both teams were presented with their trophies at the ceremony held immediately after the game, with the San Miguel Beermen receiving their medals from the Chief Executive Officer of GE Philippines, Mr. Jocot Dedios. The ABL’s newly crowned Local MVP for 2012 Leo Avenido was also given his trophy during the ceremony.
It was then fitting that the ABL’s newly crowned Coach of the Year 2012, Todd Purves, was then handed the AirAsia ABL Champions 2012 trophy by the Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia Philippines, Ms. Marianne Hontiveros, who also threw the tip-off in the ABL’s season opener at this same venue back in January. Coach Purves and Steve Thomas were also then handed their trophies for ABL Coach of the Year 2012 and Defensive Player of the Year 2012 respectively.
Capping off the proceedings was the presentation of the ABL Finals MVP by the CEO of the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League, Mr. Kuhan Foo, to the Warriors’ Evan Brock, who had been outstanding in the Finals, averaging 21.7 points and 13.7 rebounds per game.
INA 78 - Pringle 28, Brock 15, Thomas 10, Canada 7, Salangsang 7, Wuysang 4, Winsu 4, Pirhantono 3, Wibawa 0, Risanto 0, Gunawan 0, Sitepu 0
SMB 76 - Crew 29, Banchero 16, Fazekas 11, Avenido 9, Fajardo 8, Luanzon 0, Fernandez 0, Yap 0. Ferriols 0, Gonzales 0, Dimaunahan 0
QS: 19-13, 38-33, 64-53, 78-76
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| The Indonesia Warriors celebrate their first AirAsia ABL crown. |
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| Stanley Pringle poured in 28 big points to lead the Warriors in clinching the 2012 title. |
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| Chris Banchero gave a good Game 3 effort, but fouling out in the fourth period proved to be his undoing. |
Source: Game recap was compressed and compiled from AseanBasketballLeague.com.
Images: All images are from AseanBasketballLeague.com.
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