Freeman SMB's man of the hour

MANILA, Philippines - Gabe Freeman came through with a remarkable debut in the local pro league, scattering 40 points to power San Miguel Beer to a 114-105 win over Burger King in the Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

Freeman, who flew in only Saturday to take over from Nate Carter, also pulled down 15 rebounds and put in 17 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter as he personally held off the Titans and gave the Beermen their second straight victory.

Burger King coach Yeng Guiao somehow made Freeman’s job easier as he opted to keep Shawn Daniels on the bench in the last 18 minutes of the contest.

“ I just decided not to field him anymore,” Guiao said later.

Daniels, rival of Freeman in the recent CBA finals, made 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting and also hauled down nine rebounds and made two assists in 25 minutes of action.

“We knew he’s a livewire. We expected him to be a rebounder but it’s a pleasant surprise for us that he can score that much,” said San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen of their new recruit.

“Not taking anything away from Nate Carter but (our problem with him) somehow became a blessing in disguise. There were things that were not right and we’re able to get Freeman instead,” Tanquingcen said.

Freeman, only 23, was a product of Mesa Community College who played with Rod Nealy and J.J. Sullinger for the Albany Patroons who placed second behind Lawton Fort Still Cavalry in the last CBA tourney. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound forward has also played in the US under coach Alton Lister, who’s now part of the SMB coaching staff.

Jay Washington, Jonas Villanueva and Dorian Peña contributed double-digit outputs for the Beermen, who led by as many as 26 points late in the third quarter.

The Beermen had their biggest lead at 81-55 on a run sealed by a two-handed slam by Freeman on a fastbreak play.

But despite the benching of Daniels, the Titans waged a rally in the fourth quarter, coming to within three, 94-97, behind Cyrus Baguio, Arwind Santos, Gary David, JR Quinahan and Wynne Arboleda.

But Freeman himself defused Burger King’s fightback with two short jumpers.

“Those little things we ignore and are exploited by our opponents are among our concerns. We really have to work on that. It happened again in this game, allowing them to come back,” said Tanquingcen.

The Titans took their first loss after back-to-back wins.

Santos paced the losing team with 26 points and eight rebounds. Beau Belga added a career-high 17-point output.

Jeff Chan scored the go-ahead basket on a fallaway jumper then foiled a Willie Miller go-for-broke drive inside the last six seconds as Barako Bull nipped Alaska Milk, 92-90, for a first win in three starts in the second game.

“We finally nailed the first win for this new team. Definitely, this win will change the course of this team,” said Barako Bull coach Leo Isaac.