Basketball
Beermen overtake Patriots atop ABL standings
The San Miguel Beermen finally grabbed the upper hand in the team standings of the ASEAN Basketball League after a lopsided 103-76 victory over the Chang Thailand Slammers Sunday at the Thai Japan Association Gym in Bangkok.
Nick Fazekas had 22 points and seven rebounds while Chris Banchero and Leo Avenido added 15 markers each for the Beermen, who hiked their mark to 14-4 to gain the number one spot in the ABL standings.
The Beermen occupied the top spot thanks to a four-game winning streak and erstwhile leader AirAsia Philippine Patriots’ 104-79 loss to the Indonesia Warriors at home last Saturday to fall to a 13-4 card.
San Miguel actually trailed early in the game after Chang Thailand quickly got a 17-6 lead with Darongpan Apiromvilachai leading the way with eight markers but that Slammers advantage was slice away and the Beermen tied it at 26 after the first quarter.
The Beermen continued their rampage closing out the second period with 10 unanswered points as the lead ballooned to 14 points, 52-38, at the half. After San Miguel opened the third with an 8-0 run, the outcome of the game was already decided.
Calvin Williams had 20 points and 17 rebounds while Apiromvilaichai added 18 for the Slammers, who fell to a league-worst 5-13 win-loss slate.
The Beermen will play at home at the Ynares Sports Arena on Wednesday against the Jobstreet.com Singapore Slingers at 4 p.m. The Patriots will also be seeing action at the Pasig venue when they face the Saigon Heat in the nightcap at 7 p.m.
