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SAN Miguel Beer extended its win streak to six games and grabbed a share of the lead in the Asean Basketball League with a 68-61 win over the Jobstreet.com Singapore Slingers on Sunday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The Beermen posted their ninth victory in 12 outings, tying the Indonesia Warriors for the top spot.
SMB dominated the game as they jumped out to a 23-10 lead in the first period after an 11-0 run.
Chris Banchero once again showed the way for San Miguel, scoring 19 points and dishing out six assists.
“We really feel great about the winning streak after we struggled in our first six games,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria. “I’m happy to see the team picking up.”
Trailing by 20 points entering the fourth, the Slingers made a huge comeback and trimmed the deficit to eight points, 55-63, but Leo Avenido doused the rally with a left-corner jumper with less than two minutes left in the game.
“We have to give credit to Singapore… In the first half, I told them (Beermen) to put some points in order to secure the win. Unfortunately in the fourth, our opponents stepped up and we have a tendency to relax,” Austria said.
Brian Williams finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks, while Avenido added 10 markers. Justin Williams had six points, six rebounds, and three blocks for the Beermen.
The Slingers fell to 4-7 after losing their sixth straight contest.
San Miguel finally plays a home game after a one-month road trip as it faces Singapore again on April 6 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The scores:
San Miguel (68) – Banchero 19, B. Williams 11, Avenido 10, Rizada 9, J. Williams 6, Cawaling 5, Taulava 5, Acuna 3, Hubalde 0.
Singapore (61) – Singleton 17, Morrison 14, Jones-Jennings 10, Cabatu 10, Oh 6, Wu 2, Wong 2, Folkoff 0, Goh 0.
Quarterscores: 24-12; 37-22; 57-37; 68-61.
Source: Reuben Terrado, SPIN.ph
