The San Miguel Beermen distanced
themselves further from the rest of the pack by repeating over the Heat, while
the Slammers reclaimed fourth spot by defeating the Slingers on the road in
this past weekend’s ASEAN Basketball League games.
The twin-tower combo of
Brian Williams and Asi Taulava spearheaded the Beermen’s close shave over the
visiting Heat, 71-69. Williams and Taulava paired up for 37 points as SMB
nailed its 15th win and extended its winning streak to a dozen
games. Saigon, however, had its own pair of brilliant bigs – David Palmer and
Justin Howard, who combined for 43 points and 26 rebounds. This was the Heat’s 14th
defeat of the season.
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| Chris Banchero tries to stifle the drive of Saigon's Jai Reyes. (image by SaigonHeat.com) |
The Slammers, meanwhile,
rose back up to fourth spot, momentarily gaining the upper hand versus the Slingers
in their seesaw battle for the final playoff spot. Nobody scored more than 8
points for the hapless Singaporeans, whose import, Rashad Jones-Jennings,
registered just 5 markers on 2-of-11 FG shooting and 1-of-10 FT shooting. His
counterpart from Thailand, Christien Charles, on the other hand, scored 19
points and hauled down 19 rebounds in a no-rest performance. Darrius Brannon
also ended up with a double-double line – 15 points and 16 boards – for the
Slammers.
Game Recaps:
SAN MIGUEL BEERMEN over SAIGON HEAT, 71-69
Brian Williams had 19
points, Asi Taulava scored 18 points and the San Miguel Beermen continue their
historic run as they pushed their winning streak to 12 games by defeating the
Saigon Heat 71-69 at Ynares Sports Arena, Philippines earlier today.
The Beermen had to sweat out
Chris Sumalinog’s missed 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded before ensuring their
15th win of the season. With the win, the Beermen has a stronghold to the top
spot of the ABL standings table with a record of 15-3.
Jai Reyes had a strong first
quarter, scoring 9 points on 4 for 4 shooting. Reyes’ shot with 26 seconds left
in the first quater gave the Heat a 19-17 lead.
Val Acuna sank a corner
three-point shot to open the second quarter and sparked a 13-0 run for the
Beermen who are still playing without the injured Chris Banchero. B. Williams
hit a 17-footer off a pick and roll with Jeric Fortuna and J. Williams knocked
down a fade-away jumper in the lane that capped off the run, giving the Beermen
a 30-19 lead midway through the second quarter.
A lay-up from Leo Avenido
and a pair of free throws from B. Williams kept the Beermen’s lead in the
double digits at 53-42 with 4:17 left in the third quarter. But the Heat had a
strong finish to end the third quarter by managing an 11-4 run capped off by a
lay-up from David Palmer which cut the Heat’s deficit to 57-53.
Taulava, who dedicated this
game to his newborn daughter, was unstoppable on the post early in the fourth
quarter. Taulava scored on a lay-up off a nice bounce pass from J. Williams
which gave the Beermen a 68-63 lead with 5:48 left.
The Beermen had a 70-66 lead
with 2:43 left on a lay-up by Avenido. Then former Beermen Norman Gonzales
knocked a three-pointer to get the Heat within one point with 29 seconds on the
clock. Down to 10 seconds left, the Heat sent B. Williams to the free throw line.
B. Williams split his free throws to set up a last second three-point attempt
by Sumalinog. Unfortunately, Sumalinog’s three-pointer did not go down.
David Palmer finished with
24 points and 14 rebounds while Justin Howard had 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Reyes added 16 points for the Heat.
THAILAND SLAMMERS over SINGAPORE SLINGERS, 73-49
The Sports Rev Thailand
Slammers opened up an early lead that they held all game long, emerging with a
73-49 win over the JobStreet.com Singapore Slingers at the Singapore Indoor
Stadium, Singapore.
“We played well defensively
for 40 minutes today. I gave the guys four days off from practice and it showed
tonight that they have their legs and great energy,” said Bryant after the
game. The Slammers locked the Slingers to just 26% from the field throughout
today’s game.
Chris Charles and Darrius
Brannon were an absolute force in this game, abusing the Slingers’ defense with
their brute strength and relentless effort. Charles finished with 19 points and
19 rebounds while Brannon had 15 points and 16 rebounds. Froilan Baguion also
recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists for the Slammers who
reclaimed the fourth spot and improved to 7-12.
After a disappointing loss
to the Slingers a week ago, the Slammers made sure they came ready to play. A
pair of lay-ups from Baguion opened the game and set off a hot start from the
Slammers. Brannon converted a three-point play which gave the Slammers a 9-0
lead to open the game.
The Slammers continued to
stay disciplined and played solid defense in the second quarter. Darongpan
Apiromvilaichai opened the second quarter with a runner and a lay-up off a nice
assist from Baguion that sparked a 19-4 run for the Slammers. Brannon’s lay-up
gave the Slammers a 39-18 lead with 2:33 left before halftime.
With the Slingers’ offense
continuing to struggle in the third quarter, the Slammers took full advantage
and flew on an early 13-2 run. The Slingers’ defense lost Baguion at the
baseline, allowing him to score an open layup then Kannut Samerjai capped of
the run with his lay-up, giving the Slammers a 55-25 lead.
The aggressive defense from
the Slammers team was too much for the overwhelmed Slingers team to overcome.
Chris Charles put the exclamation point to the game with a two-handed throwdown
after receiving a nice dish from Kannawat Lertlaaokul with 2:42 left.
None of the Slingers players
reached double-digit points in this game. Jun Cabatu and Rashaad Singleton
finished with 8 points each for the Slingers who now have a 6-12 record.
Morrison, who had to play with a mask to protect his broken nose, struggled to
find his offense. After torching the Slammers with 26 points last week,
Morrison could not hit a field goal and was held to four points in this game.
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| Froilan Baguion and the Slammers are momentarily #4 in the standings. (image by Jonson Wenjie/SingaporeSlingers.com) |
Source: Game recap was compressed and compiled from
AseanBasketballLeague.com.
Images are from AseanBasketballLeague.com and
SaigonHeat.com.
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