2013 ASEAN Basketball League Finals Roundup: June 7-9, 2013

And just like that, the San Miguel Beermen are one away from the 2013 ASEAN Basketball League crown. About a week after disposing of the pesky Sports Rev Thailand Slammers, the Beermen went to work and survived twp tough outings against the defending champion Indonesia Warriors.

In the first game last Friday, June 7, it was 40-year old phenom Asi Taulava who buckled down to work and registered a double-double line – 22 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 10-of-14 from the field to help SMB clinch an all-important Game 1 win. Playmaker Chris Banchero also did well with 15 points, 6 boards, and 5 assists despite shooting just 5-of-15 from the floor. Wing shooters Val Acuña and Leo Avenido also found their marks, contributing 13 and 12 markers respectively thanks to a combined 5-of-6 shooting from rainbow land. Steve Thomas spearheaded the Warriors with 20 points and 17 rebounds, but the Beermen just came up with the bigger plays in the endgame.

Asi Taulava ruled Game 1 for SMB.

In the second game last night, the Beermen had to go through the wringer, escaping with a 66-65 W after Brian Williams made the go-ahead basket with under 7 seconds left. Williams cut through the baseline and received an inbound pass from Avenido. Williams then converted on the easy deuce and handed the one-point lead to San Miguel. Fil-American Stanley Pringle raced downcourt for a potential game-winning runner, but it clanged off the rim as time expired. Williams led SMB with 17 points, 16 boards, and 4 blocked shots as most of the other locals struggled. Banchero scored 12 points, but he missed 10 of his 13 field goal attempts in the process. He was thoroughly outplayed by Pringle, who ended with 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. Thomas teamed up with Chris Daniels for 28 points and 24 rebounds for the visiting Warriors, who now must win all three remaining Finals games to successfully defend their title.

Game Recaps:

SAN MIGUEL BEERMEN over INDONESIA WARRIORS, 75-70

Asi Taulava proved why he is the reigning AirAsia 2013 ASEAN Most Valuable Player in front of a packed Ynares Sports Arena. Taulava made two big shots in the last minute to help the San Miguel Beermen take a 1-0 lead in the AirAsia 2013 ABL Finals over the Indonesia Warriors following their 75-70 win tonight.

The evening started off with the presentation of the 2013 ABL End of Season Awards. ABL Chief Operating Officer Ridi Djajakusuma presented Beermen head coach Leo Austria with his 2013 Coach of the Year award and the Sports Rev Thailand Slammers’ Chris Charles with his 2013 Defensive Player of the Year award. Charles was later handed his 2013 World Import MVP trophy by ABL Chief Executive Officer Anthony Macri. Then Beermen Asi Taulava came on centre court amidst loud cheers to receive his 2013 ASEAN MVP presented by AirAsia trophy from Mr. Macri.

Buoyed by his accolade, Taulava led all scoring with 22 points, in addition to 10 rebounds. Chris Banchero finished with 15 points while Val Acuna added 13 points for the Beermen who received 24 points from their bench.

“My teammates trust me when we need to get a big basket at the end of the game. Thank the Lord my shots have been falling. It was a great team win tonight and our defense held our ground tonight,” said Taulava after the win.

Leo Avenido started things off and gave the Beermen a 5-3 lead with his three-pointer, but the Warriors went on 14-4 run to take a 17-9 lead with 3:21 left in the first quarter. The run was capped off by a pull up jumper from Stanley Pringle and Jerick Canada. Indonesia maintained their lead at the end of the first quarter after Steven Thomas made two free throws to put the Warriors up 23-18.

Down 36-29 with 2:24 left before halftime, Taulava took over the game. Off a timeout with one second left on the shot clock, Taulava hit a tough jumper and sparked a 9-2 run. On the next possesion, Taulava made an easy layup which helped the Beermen level the game at 38 all during the break.

Val Acuna and Jeric Fortuna played big roles off the Beermen bench and helped the Beermen get the 59-55 lead after the three period. Acuna made a baseline cut and finished it with a double pump layup while Fortuna grabbed a loose ball for an open layup to end the third quarter.

After Fortuna’s split charities and Acuna’s running bank shot, San Miguel built their lead up to 67-58 with 6:50 left. Although the Beermen tried to put the game away, the Warriors managed to pull back to within 3 points with 3 mintes left after Thomas sank two free throws. But Taulava decided to put the Warriors away for good. With 50 seconds left, Taulava drove past Thomas on the baseline to make a layup. Taulava did not stop there as he then made a step-back jumper on the elbow to cap off his amazing night and ensured the Beermen get the 1-0 lead in the series.

Taulava expects the Warriors to play much tougher in the second game however. “They [the Warriors] are the defending champions. You can’t take anything away from them. They will come back in the next game and it’s going to be even harder to get a win. They are very experienced,” he says on his expectations for game two.

Thomas led the Warriors with 20 points and 17 rebounds, Stanley Pringle finished with 15 points and Chris Daniels contributed 14 points.

Leo Austria of SMB, Chris Charles of the Slammers,
and Asi Taulava of SMB are the big winners.

Coach Leo Austria received his Coach of the Year trophy.

SAN MIGUEL BEERMEN over INDONESIA WARRIORS, 66-65

It was another exciting finish for game two in the AirAsia 2013 ABL Finals. Down by one point with 6.8 seconds left, San Miguel Beermen head coach Leo Austria drew the perfect play to free up Brian Williams for a layup. With that layup, the Beermen are now just one win away from taking the AirAsia 2013 ABL Championship following a 66-65 win over Indonesia Warriors to take a 2-0 lead in this best-of-five series.

“That last play was actually a play that the Warriors has been killing us with all season. The funny thing is that we finally did it to them and it worked to perfection. I’m just glad I made that game winner,” said Williams who scored 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.

Behind Williams’ big night, Chris Banchero finished with 12 points while Leo Avenido and Asi Taulava contributed 8 points each.

The game was neck and neck since the jump. Both teams played great defense in the first quarter which resulted in a very low scoring affair. After Steven Thomas scored on a short jumper, Justin Williams answered immediately by scoring on a layup off a no-look pass from Banchero which gave the Beermen a slight edge, 14-12, after 10 minutes.

Early in the second quarter, the Beermen quickly built a 10 point lead on back-to-back three-point shots from Jeric Fortuna and Banchero. However, Mario Wuysang quickly stopped the bleeding by scoring 5 straight points that trimmed the Beermen lead to 22-17 with 7:15 left before halftime. Stanley Pringle made his only field goal in the first half by sinking a three-point shot with 2 seconds left to cut the Warriors deficit to 37-34 at halftime.

The third quarter saw both teams exchanging baskets. Fortuna continued to play well off the Beermen’s bench as he sank a three-point shot with 1:43 left in the third period to tie the game at 49 all. But, Pringle drives hard to the basket to make a layup against Taulava to put the Warriors up 51-49 heading into the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately for Indonesia, they had to lose Jerick Canada and John Smith in the fourth quarter as both players suffered injuries. The game was deadlocked at 63 all with 56 seconds left. Taulava split his free throw and gave the Beermen a 64-63 lead, but Pringle made a floater with seconds left to put the Warriors back in front.

After Chris Daniels was unable to save the ball under the Beermen’s rim, San Miguel receives the ball back with 6.8 seconds left. Warriors’ head coach Todd Purves called a timeout, but the Beermen were able to execute a great play to take the lead. Avenido, who inbounded the ball, made the perfect pass to B. Williams who uses a great back-pick from Banchero to get free for the game winning layup. Pringle had one last chance at the buzzer but his floater did not go down and the Beermen are now one win away from winning the AirAsia 2013 ABL Championships.

In this heartbreaking loss for the Warriors, Pringle finished with 21 points while Daniels recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Steven Thomas added 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Warriors. Before leaving the game with a knee injury, Canada was able to score 11 points.