ABL: Cañada shines as Warriors stun Beermen

The Indonesia Warriors staged a comeback in the endgame to defeat the San Miguel Beermen in overtime, 98-96, on Friday at the Ynares Sports Arena, in Asean Basketball League action. [Related: San Miguel Beermen get revenge on Indonesia Warriors] It was sweet revenge for Indonesia, which lost in the season-opening game to SMB, 64-53, in a rematch of their Finals clash from last year. The win allowed them to improve to a league-best 4-2 record, while the Beerment settled at 2-2. The Warriors made it a one-point game, 76-75, with 1:24 remaining in the fourth, after trailing by as much as 13 points. The reigning ABL champs were then able to get the lead with 57 seconds remaining after a pair of free throws by Chris Daniels, but a foul by Jerick Cañada on Leo Avenido with 43 seconds remaining, gave San Miguel two points and the lead from the line, 78-77. A Paolo Hubalde foul on Cañada resulted in a split at the line that knotted things at 78-all. Though Mario Wuysang snapped up the loose ball, he would miss on a forced shot, as did Gabe Freeman on the other end, handing possession back to Indonesia. Cañada pushed the ball and got the foul for more free throws to put the Warriors ahead. Off a timeout, the Beermen went to Freeman, with 5.1 seconds remaining, and he responded by drawing a foul from Chris Daniels. Freeman then proceeded to nail the charities, giving the Warriors just a second to make something happen. Unfortunately for them, John Smith's heave from long range, fell short, creating the extra period. The two teams would go back-and-forth with the lead in overtime, before a Wuysang three made it a four-point lead with three-and-a-half minutes remaining. League MVP Leo Avenido and Freeman however forged yet another tie, before Brian Williams put the locals ahead, 91-89, 1:37 left, on a put-back of an Avenido miss. Wuysang was there though to hit another long-distance shot, countered by Williams charities. Cañada was then sent to the line where he made two, putting Indonesia up anew, 94-93. An Avenido miss from downtown gave Indonesia the chance to extend the lead. Axel Doruelo would end up fouling Cañada with 15 seconds remaining, with the former Adamson Falcon hitting both, 96-93. San Miguel would go to Freeman in the end to try to force another extension, but the athletic swingman opted for a floater, which missed. Wuysang canned two insurance free throws in the end to give the visiting team the victory. Wuysang led Indonesia with 20 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Jerick Canada added 18 points and seven assists, while Chris Daniels amassed a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds. Steven Thomas chimed in with 17 markers. Gabe Freeman top-scored for both sides with 33 points, and added 15 rebounds for good measure. Brian Williams tallied 22 points and six rebounds, while Erik Menk had 10. The Warriors won, despite being held to 38 percent shooting from the field. They were the more aggressive side though, getting to the line 40 times for 30 conversions, compared to the 23-of-28 clip of San Miguel, who shot 34-of-74 from the field. The home side also had more points in the paint, 34-to-22, but Indonesia's grit allowed them to pull through with the victory. - AMD, GMA News The scores: IND 98 - Wuysang 20, Canada 18, Daniels 18, Thomas 17, Smith 16, Smith 5, Sitepu 4, Prihantono 0, Indrajaya 0 SMB 96 - Freeman 33, Williams 22, Menk 10, Banchero 9, Avenido 9, Taulava 7, Rizada 4, Hubalde 2, Acuna 0, Doruelo 0 Quarter scoring: 18-21, 36-47, 53-59, 80-80, 98-96