Basketball
Indonesia invades Beermen’s home turf to annex ABL crown
Photo courtesy of the ASEAN Basketball League
The Indonesia Warriors survived a furious San Miguel Beermen rally to pull out a thrilling 78-76 victory in the deciding Game Three of the ASEAN Basketball League finals Saturday at the Ynares Center in Pasig City.
Indonesia prevented another collapse at San Miguel’s home court to win the title. The Warriors controlled most of Game One before letting the Beermen escape with an 86-83 victory. Indonesia set up a rubber match by destroying San Miguel in Jakarta in Game Two, 81-61.
In the finale, Indonesia barely held on.
The Warriors again kept the Beermen at bay for most of the match, and were still ahead, 71-59 with less than six minutes left in the fourth quarter. But San Miguel unleashed a 10-0 run capped by Junmar Fajardo followup to cut the lead to just two points, 71-69.
Filipino-American guard Stanley Pringle, who scored 28 points, responded with a three-point play in the ensuing play, drawing the last foul of San Miguel ace Chris Banchero, to give the Warriors a 74-69 edge with just two minutes left.
Froilan Baguion and Duke Crews then conspired for a quick 5-2 run to cut the Indonesia lead to a single basket, 76-74. But San Miguel couldn’t tie the game, and Evan Brock hit two free throws with 29.8 seconds to extend the lead.
Crews, who led all scorers with 29 points, scored quickly in the ensuing possession, and the Beermen sent Pringle to the line. The former Penn State guard missed both his free throws, giving the home team a final opportunity.
But the Indonesia defense held strong, forcing ABL Local MVP Leo Avenido to miss a layup and preserving the victory.
It was the first ABL title for Indonesia. The Philippine Patriots won the first edition of the ABL tournament, before the Chang Thailand Slammers won it least season.
