ABL: Beerman take lucky 13th straight win, best Indonesia Warriors

Call it "Friday the 13th." The San Miguel Beermen continued to dominate the Asean Basketball League, earning their 13th straight win via a 70-66 triumph over reigning champions Indonesia Warriors, Friday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig. The win put the Philippine squad at 16-3, while the Warriors slumped to 13-6. The visiting Warriors took an early 7-2 lead, four minutes into the game, but failed to score the rest of the quarter, allowing San Miguel to storm ahead once they found their rhythm, going for 17 unanswered points. Five three-points from Val Acuna in the second period made life difficult for Indonesia, as they had gotten within seven points, 26-19, before the former UE Red Warriors dropped 12 from beyond the arc. His trey at the 1:08 mark made it a 40-23 game, San Miguel's biggest lead of the night. The Beermen managed to maintain their double-digit advantage through most of the third, but Steven Thomas knocked that buffer down to six late in the third, 54-48, off a Stanley Prigle find. Justin Williams and Leo Avenido revived the Beermen's double-digit lead in the fourth, but the one-two guard punch of Pringle and Jerick Canada made it a five-point affair, 65-60, 3:50 left in the game. After both sides fell cold for a minute and change, Canada connected on another trey, for a two-point ball game, 65-63. The Adamson University grad came up with a steal on Asi Taulava, but Pringle was unable to convert off the turnover. Brian Williams scored on the other end for a two-possession lead with 1:52 to go, 67-63, but Canada was still on fire, dropping a triple for a 67-66 tally. RJ Rizada was unable to get it back, but Steven Thomas likewise failed to get the lead, 13 seconds left in the game. Now forced to foul, the Warriors sent Taulava to the line, and the PBA veteran canned both, 69-66. Off a timeout, Canada was unable to maintain his stroke from beyond the arc, and Paolo Hubalde closed things out with a charity, to arrive at the final score. Brian Williams and Val Acuna scored 15 apiece to lead the Beermen, with the import Williams adding nine rebounds. Asi Taulava finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Paolo Hubalde and Justin Williams scattered eight markers each. Steven Thomas managed a game-high 18 points and 15 rebounds in the losing effort. Stanley Pringle added 15 markers and Mario Wuysang scored 13. Both teams shot under 40 percent, but San Miguel notched a 19-10 advantage in assists. They also out-scored their foes 32-18 in the paint, and scored 14 markers off 15 Indonesia miscues. - AMD, GMA News The scores: San Miguel Beermen: B. Williams 15, Acuna 15, Taulava 12, Hubalde 8, J. Williams 8, Avenido 6, Cawaling 2, Rizada 2, Thiele 2, Fortuna 0 Indonesia Warriors:  Thomas 18, Pringle 15, Wuysang 13, Canada 9, Daniels 9, Prihantono 2, Sitepu 0, Smith 0 Quarter scoring: 19-7, 42-27, 56-48, 70-66