ABL: Swipe-happy Beermen keep Saigon winless

The San Miguel Beermen pulled off 18 steals, three times the amount the Saigon Heat had, and nearly doubled the Heat's third quarter output, winning 85-62 Saturday, at the Tan Binh Stadium, in a battle of two first-year Asean Basketball League clubs. The two seem like mirror opposites of each other, with the Beermen tied with two other teams at the top of the standings with 4-2 records, while the Heat are still looking to break into the win column after six tries. Tied after the first quarter, a flurry of baskets by Darlon Johnson and Leo Avenido pushed San Miguel ahead, arming them with a 15-point lead, 36-21, a little more than half the period gone by. But the Heat gave their fans some hope, as Julius Hodge, the league's most prolific scorer, nearly single-handedly overturned the difference, making it 38-34 at the break. Out of halftime, the Heat were unable to sustain the momentum Hodge had built for them as the Beermen quickly piled on the points once more. A triple by Allan Mangahas gave San Miguel another sizable advantage, 16 points, 54-38, and this time, the Heat could not do away with it. After the 29-15 third quarter bomb San Miguel detonated, Saigon was barely able to exchange baskets, as Johnson inflated his side's advantage to as much as 24 points, before SMB head coach Bobby Parks sent in the reserves. Johnson finished with a double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds, while also providing a team-best five steals. Fellow import Thomas Kim added 18 and 10, while Leo Avenido scorched the rim to the tune of 16 markers on 50 percent shooting. The Heat got 23 points from Julius Hodge and 26 from Jonathan Jones, but the team lacked support beyond that, providing just 13 more points all in all. Saigon gets more than a week's respite before coming back against the Bangkok Cobras on February 19, while San Miguel plays a day prior versus the Indonesia Warriors. - Adrian Dy, GMA News The scores: SMB 85 - Johnson 24, Kim 18, Avenido 16, Mangahas 11, Fernandez 7, Fajardo 4, Baguion 2, Rizada 2, Gonzales 1, Cabatu 0, Basco 0, De La Pena 0 SH 62 - Jones 26, Hodge 23, Smith 6, Trieu 3, Capati 2, Nguyen 1, Javier 1, Pham 0, Doan 0, Ly 0 Quarter-scoring: 18-18, 38-34, 67-49, 85-62