Banchero powers Beermen past Indonesia Warriors in ABL charity meet

The San Miguel Beermen debuted with a 76-70 win over the Indonesia Warriors late Thursday night in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) charity tournament in Bangkok, Thailand.

Chris Banchero scored 21, Richard Jeter added 16 points and Dalron Johnson tallied 13 markers and 11 rebounds for the Beermen, who are taking part in a tournament called “To Be Number 1 Basketball Challenge” as a warm up for the coming ABL season in January. 

The tournament is for the benefit of flood-stricken victims in Bangkok.

The Beermen and the Warriors are among the six teams competing in the said tournament. Also joining are the Philippine Patriots, Saigon Heat, Singapore Slingers, and the Bangkok Cobras.

The six teams were grouped into two and will play a single round robin format. The top teams will face in the finals on Sunday.

 

The Patriots debuted Friday night against the Saigon Heat as they begin their preparation in reclaiming the ABL crown.

 

After the Patriots won the inaugural season, the team lost the crown to the Chang Thailand Slammers this year.

 

Newly-installed head coach Glenn Capacio said that the preseason tournament will also gauge the Patriots' preparation for the coming season. This early, Capacio said that the defending champion Slammers will continue to be a force to reckon with after hiring Cameroonians Chris Kuete and Joe Etame as imports.

 

Kuete returns for another tour of duty for the Slammers while Etame is no stranger to Filipinos after he played for Jose Rizal University in the NCAA.

 

"Siyempre medyo may bagong adjustment lang kasi may big man na sila who can dominate the boards and a good wing import so kami naman we have to control the boards for us to run and we also have to focus on defense," said Capacio, who replaced Louie Alas.

 

Capacio also got a benefit of scouting several players in the ABL after being an assistant coach to Norman Black's Sinag Pilipinas team in the 2011 Southeast Asian Games. — JVP, GMA News