Basketball
ABL: Beermen rally past Slingers to win fifth straight
The San Miguel Beermen escaped with a come-from-behind 68-64 win over the Singapore Slingers Wednesday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City to remain on top of the ASEAN Basketball League standings.
Nick Fazekas brought the Beermen back after trailing by 10 at the start of the fourth quarter to earn their fifth consecutive victory.
The Beermen improved their record to 15-4, although they had to scramble for the victory.
“It was a grind-out game,” said San Miguel coach Bobby Parks. “When you have a winning streak, you tend to relax. We came out like we have already won the game but it was a wake-up call for us.”
Fazekas finished with 23 points, 19 rebounds and three blocks for the Beermen as he inspired the team with his scoring inside the paint in the fourth period.
The Slingers dropped their record down to 7-10. Singapore had a chance to pull off an upset over the Beermen but could not hold on to its 54-44 lead after three quarters.
Leo Avenido buried a three-pointer at the 3:25 mark to finally grab the lead for the Beermen, 64-61. The Slingers’ Filipino-American guard Don Dulay hit a three-pointer to tie the game with two minutes remaining in the game but Chris Banchero split his free throws and Fazekas scored a hook shot to give the Beermen a three-point lead.
Singapore muffed its possession with Dulay missing a game-tying three pointer with 48 seconds in the game. Banchero hit another free throw in the final seconds to settle the score.
Banchero had 13 points and five assists while SMB’s other import Duke Crews had 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Beermen still need to sweep their remaining assignments to assure themselves of homecourt advantage until the finals.
