Indonesia protected its homecourt against a game Malaysia
squad, while the Beermen avenged a Game 1 shocker by blowing the Slammers out
of the PhilSports Arena in this past weekend’s 2013 ABL Playoff action.
Stanley Pringle is certainly back for the Indonesia
Warriors, and he has been doing what he does best – carve defenses apart and
make a beeline to the basket. In the first two games of Indonesia’s Playoff
match-up with the Malaysia Dragons, Pringle has averaged 21.0ppg, 5.0rpg,
3.0apg, and 1.0spg while shooting close to 52% from the field. He was the main
scoring option in the Indons’ title romp last year, and it seems he has settled
into that role once again this postseason. John Smith and Mario Wuysang helped
him out in Game 1 with a combined 31 points, while Steven Thomas and Chris
Daniels paired up for 23 points and 26 rebounds in Game 2. The Dragons have
been competitive, however, leaning on the dynamic duo of Justin Melton and
Gavin Edwards. Melton and Edwards have normed 23.5ppg and 15.5ppg respectively
in the series’ first two games. Malaysia has to win Game 3 to avoid a sweep and
then snatch Game 4 to send the series back to Jakarta for the decider.
In the other Playoff match-up, the San Miguel Beermen
redeemed themselves from the improbable Game 1 upset by thoroughly outclassing
the Sports Rev Thailand Slammers in Game 2. The Pinoys shot better than 50%
from the field, including 8-of-16 from three-point land, won the rebounding
battle – 43-32, and did a better job
distributing the basketball – 24 assists to just 12 for Thailand. Local players
Jeric Fortuna, Chris Banchero, Val Acuña, and Leo Avenido all scored at least
12 points to lead SMB’s unabated dominance. Their backs are against the wall,
though, as Games 3 & 4 will be played in Thailand. The Slammers will
definitely be buoyed by their boisterous hometown crowd, and they would do well
to maximize that in the hopes of upsetting the Beermen once more. If SMB
manages to win at least one game in Thailand and send the game back to Manila,
then the Thais might be staring at a lost cause.
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| Justin William goes up for the slamma jamma! |
Game Recaps:
INDONESIA
WARRIORS over WESTPORTS MALAYSIA DRAGONS, 72-63
The Indonesia Warriors started their AirAsia 2013 ABL
playoffs campaign with a comfortable 72-63 win over the Westports Malaysia
Dragons in front of their home fans at Mahaka Square, Indonesia. With this win,
the Warriors take a 1-0 lead in this best-of-five series.
Stanley Pringle led all scoring with 21 points, John Smith
finished with 17 points and Mario Wuysang added 14 points to round up the top
scorers from the Warriors side.
Before tip-off, the Dragons received discouraging news that
their import Marcus Hubbard will sit out for this game due to an illness.
Hubbard’s absence was felt in the first quarter as the Dragons were struggling
to score the ball. With the Dragons only shooting at 29% from the field in the
first quarter, the Warriors took advantage and built their lead. Pringle made a
three-pointer with 3 minutes left, putting the Warriors up 16-8.
The Warriors earned their first big lead in the second
quarter after John Smith drained a three-pointer and Mario Wuysang made a
basket with 2:38 left before halftime, building up the Warrior’s lead to 33-17.
Down 14 to start the third quarter, the Dragons did not help
themselves and were careless with the ball on offense. Although they were up
double-digits, Warriors players continued to play solid defense and put
pressure on the ball handler which led to Indonesia forcing Malaysia to turn
the ball over 7 times. Using an 8-0 run capped off by field goal from Pringle,
Indonesia balooned their lead 60-36 with 53 seconds left in the third period.
Melton and Gavin Edwards tried to spark a comeback early in
the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for Malaysia, Warriors players consistently
executed their offense. Pringle knocked down a three to maintain the Warriors’
lead at 70-49 with 4:10 left in the game. Steven Thomas, who had a monster game
on the boards, ensured the Warriors win with his free throws which gave the
Warriors a 71-53 lead with 2:53 left. Thomas finished this game with a
season-high 21 rebounds.
With the absence of Hubbard, Melton and Edwards led the
Dragons offense. Melton finished with 19 points while Edwards had 17 points.
Moala Tautuaa contributed 9 points and 8 boards for the Dragons who committed
24 turnovers.
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| Steven Thomas challenges Malaysia's twin towers. |
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| Dodo Sitepu launches one from deep! |
SAN MIGUEL
BEERMEN over SPORTS REV THAILAND SLAMMERS, 91-60
The San Miguel Beermen made a statement with a convincing
91-60 win over the Sports Rev Thailand Slammers this afternoon. This win ties
the series up at one game a piece in the AirAsia 2013 ABL Playoffs semi-final
round.
Chris Banchero and Val Acuna led the Beermen with 14 points
each. However, Jeric Fortuna gave the Beermen a big boost off the bench.
Fortuna contributed 13 points and 5 assists for the Beermen who scored 42
points in the paint.
Before the game, Beermen’s head coach Leo Austria aimed to
limit Slammers’ big man Chris Charles’ touch. As a result, Charles was unable
to replicate his dominant performance from Game 1 and finished with only 9
points this afternoon. Wutipong Dasom finished with 11 points, followed by
Charles who had 9 points and 9 rebound for the Slammers.
San Miguel started to dominate the Slammers at the end of
the first period. Thailand was only down 14-12 after Froilan Baguion converted
his two free throws with 2:49 left in the first quarter. Banchero then came off
the Beermen’s bench and sparked an 8-1 run to end the first quarter. Banchero’s
layup plus two free throws help the Beermen get up to 22-13 after 10 minutes.
In the second quarter, San Miguel’s defense continued to
thrive against Thailand’s offense. The Beermen offense was also clicking on all
cylinders. Fortuna opened up the second quarter by knocking down a one-dribble
pull up which gave the Beermen their first double-digit lead at 24-13. Right
before halftime, Chris Banchero scores on a put back and Justin Williams scores
to beat the buzzer to put the Beermen up 42-24 at halftime.
It was all San Miguel early in the third quarter. Although
they already held an 18 point lead, Avenido opened up the third quarter with a
reverse layup which sparked a 9-2 run. J. Williams capped off the run with a powerful slam to clean up Banchero’s missed
layup, extending the San Miguel lead to 51-26 with 7:22 left. However, J.
Williams’ afternoon was cut short after being ejected with 1:19 left in the
third quarter. J.Williams received his second unsportmanlike foul after elbowing
Darongpan Apiromvilaichai.
Despite missing J. Williams, San Miguel continued to build
their lead in the fourth quarter. After only shooting 23% from behind-the-arc
in Game 1, San Miguel were able to knock down their three-pointers this
afternoon. Acuna ensured his team will even the series at 1-1 with his
three-point shot with 3:15 left, giving the Beermen a 29 point lead.
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| Val Acuña is unmolested on his way to the hole. |
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| Joe Bryant didn't have a chance in Game 2. |
INDONESIA
WARRIORS over WESTPORTS MALAYSIA DRAGONS, 77-65
The Indonesia Warriors used a late 16-4 run to subdue a
brave fight from the Westports Malaysia Dragons to take the 2-0 lead in the
AirAsia 2013 ABL Playoffs semi-finals round.
Stanley Pringle scored 21 points as he led the Warriors to a
77-65 win over the Dragons earlier today at Mahaka Square, Indonesia. Steven
Thomas recorded a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Jerick Canada,
Chris Daniels and John Smith contributed 11 points each for the Warriors who
are one win away from AirAsia 2013 ABL Finals.
The Dragons were missing import Marcus Hubbard, who was
forced to sit out of the game due to an
illness. Despite missing his presence, Malaysia did not shy away from playing
physical basketball. Justin Melton took the initiative and lead his team in the
first quarter. Melton made back to back baskets to put Malaysia up 10-6 with 5
minutes left in the first period.
In the second quarter, Melton continued to torture the
Warriors’ defense. A basket from Melton and Armon gave the Dragons a 33-25 lead
with 3:46 left before halftime. After a big performance in Game 1, John Smith
continued to knock down shots for the Warriors in Game 2. He cut the Dragons’
lead to 35-34 at halftime after scoring five straight points late in the second
period.
The Warriors were leading by seven points in the third
quarter, until the momentum shifted to the Dragons towards the end of the
period. Melton continued to lift his team’s spirit as he knocked down a
three-point shot right before the buzzer to cut the Warriors’ lead to 53-51
heading into the final quarter.
Melton did not stop there however, and his three-point shot
with 7:41 gave the Dragons a 56-55 lead. Unfortunately for Malaysia, they were
not able to keep Chris Daniels off the offensive boards. Daniels put the
Warriors up by three points with five minutes left after tipping in a Canada
miss.
John Ng then tied the game at 61 with his three-pointer, but
Canada made a bank shot to beat the shot clock as he sparked a 16-4 Warriors
run down the stretch. The Warriors’ win was capped off by a dunk from Thomas
who stole a pass off Guga Batumalai. A Canada corner three at 37 seconds left
ensured Indonesia the 2-0 lead as the series will move to Malaysia.
Melton led all scoring with 28 points, followed by 24 points
from Gavin Edwards. Moala Tautuaa added 9 points for the Dragons who now have to
win game 3 to stay alive.
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| Guga Batumalai slices and dices for the Dragons. |
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| Todd Purves hopes his Warriors are peaking at the right time. |
Source:
Game recaps were
compressed and compiled from AseanBasketballLeague.com.
Images: Images are
from AseanBasketballLeague.com.
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