ABL: Beermen aim to break tie with Patriots, gun for top seeding

The San Miguel Beermen gun for the top seeding in the 3rd ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) playoffs when they visit the Chang Thailand Slammers Sunday at the Thai Japanese Association Gym in Bangkok, Thailand. The Beermen won their third straight game with the Nick Fazekas-Duke Crews tandem and already bagged the semifinals berth following an emphatic 93-78 victory over the AirAsia Philippine Patriots. San Miguel and the Philippines are now tied for the top spot after the Patriots suffered a 104-79 drubbing from the Indonesia Warriors Saturday. Breaking their tie with the Patriots just in time for the playoffs will be a greater motivation for the Beermen. "But the aim now is to play better against every opponent the rest of the way. We are starting to jell as a team and we still have a long way to go because we are in the process of learning how each one plays," said SMB coach Bobby Parks. After their 4 p.m. match over the Slammers (5-12), the Beermen will meet the Singapore Slingers on April 25 and meet the Bangkok Cobras on April 28. SMB will close out their campaign against the Saigon Heat on May 9. Crews and Fazekas are both former PBA imports like Parks himself with the former averaging 26 points and 6.5 boards. The Beermen benefited from Fazekas' size as the former Petron Blaze import normed 15 rebounds in the last two games along with a 21-point average. Against the Patriots, Filipino-American guard Chris Banchero finally suited up and shone with 11 points, six assists and two steals. He is seen to be factor in the playoffs along with veterans Leo Avenido, Roger Yap and Froilan Baguion with young players Junemar Fajardo and Benedict Fernandez. The Slammers are hard-pressed to win their last four games to make the playoffs. They are coming off a 78-83 loss to Bangkok Cobras recently. — JVP, GMA News