.
Home
Nick Fazekas will make his AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League debut for the San Miguel Beermen on Sunday against the Westports Malaysia Dragons in Kuala Lumpur.
The 6-foot-11 Fazekas, who averaged 30.8 points, 18.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 2.4 blocks for Petron in the PBA Commissioner's Cup, will replace Jarrid Famous to shore up the Beermen’s title bid in the eight-team tournament.
"@SanMigBeermen announces d return of @NickFazekas to replace Jarrid Famous in the ABL. Nick arrives (today) n will begin play v (Malaysia) Dragons on sun," SMC sports consultant tweeted yesterday.
Fazekas, an ex-Dallas Maverick and Los Angeles Clipper, played seven games for Petron but was replaced by Will McDonald due to the Boosters' inconsistent showing in the import-laced conference.
The addition of Fazekas came after SMB replaced Dalron Johnson with ex-Rain or Shine import Duke Crews, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 71-69 win over the Indonesia Warriors in Jakarta. Crews, though, fouled out.
With Fazekas and Crews in tow, San Miguel is expected to give plenty of trouble in the shaded lane as it tries to catch up with the AirAsia Philippine Patriots for the top spot.
SMB is in second spot with an 11-4 record, trailing the Patriots (12-2) by 1 1/2 games for first.
The Beermen face a tough schedule over the next two weeks when they play the struggling Malaysians on Sunday followed by the "Battle of the Philippines" tussle with the Patriots on April 14.
The Beermen hope that the third time's a charm after losing their first two matches to the Dragons (83-77 on Jan. 15 and 73-70 on Feb. 25).
"It's kind of like payback time for us," said coach Bobby Parks. "They beat us both games and I'm sure they'll be prepared. We go back to Manila and work on the things that we need to work on."
Malaysia has yet to win a game since downing Indonesia, 82-79, on March 3. The Dragons dropped to an even 7-7 slate after losing their last five matches that included an 81-70 defeat to the JobStreet.com Singapore Slingers on Sunday.
The KL-based squad has also been dealing with injuries to imports Tiras Wade and Brian Williams, forcing them to use temporary reinforcements like Donald Little and Devon Sullivan.
Source: Jonas Terrado, Manila Bulletin
