ABL: Beermen sweeps Patriots to improve playoff chances

Published April 14, 2012 8:52pm

San Miguel Beer continued its mastery over AirAsia Philippines as the Beermen hacked out a 93-78 win over the Patriots Saturday night in the 3rd ASEAN Basketball league at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. The Beermen swept their three-game season series against the the inaugural champions of the league. San Miguel scored a 78-70 triumph over the Patriots in their first meeting in January then scored a 68-66 win last month.

Duke Crews and Leo Avenido had 23 points each while Nick Fazekas tallied 16 markers and 16 rebounds as the Beermen, who earned their third straight win, upped their record to 13-4 for second place.

"At this point of the season, every win is a big win for us since we are trying to place for the playoffs. I think we are learning to jell together but it's still a long way up," said San Miguel coach Bobby Parks.

The Patriots, however, remained on top of the standings with a 13-3 win-loss slate.

The Beermen posted a 47-37 halftime lead. Crews and Avenido combined for eight unanswered points to hike the advantage to 58-43 in the third period.

The Patriots managed to cut the deficit to nine points at the end of the third. Benedict Fernandez opened the fourth with a triple as the Beermen went on another 8-0 run for a 72-55 spread.

The Patriots countered with a 7-0 spurt but the Beermen stepped on the gas scoring 12 straight baskets for a decisive 84-62 advantage.

Anthony Johnson scored a game-high 30 points while ex-Barangay Ginebra import Chris Alexander, who replaced Nakiea Miller as the Patriots' reinforcement, tallied 16 markers, 12 rebounds, three assists and three blocks but failed to get enough scoring support from the locals. — JVP, GMA News

Scores:

San Miguel 93—Crews 23, Avenido 23, Fazekas 16, Banchero 11, Fernandez 8, Fajardo 5, Yap 3, Dimaunahan 3, Cabatu 1, Baguion 0, Ferriols 0, Gonzales 0.

Philippine Patriots 78—Johnson 30, Johnson 16, Larong 9, Ybanez 6, Adriano 5, Fernandez 4, Laure 3, Raymundo 2, Wainwright 2, Ramos 1, Saldua 0, Arellano 0.

Quarter scores: 22-18, 47-37, 64-55, 93-78.

Tags: sanmiguelbeermen, philippinepatriots, ablseason, aseanbasketballleague