MANILA, Philippines - San Miguel Beer leaned on a clutch basket by Leo Avenido and key defensive stops in the stretch as it survived the Indonesia Warriors, 71-69, to get back on track in the Asean Basketball League at the Mahaka Square in Jakarta, Indonesia.
After Rony Gunawan buried a booming triple to tie the count at 69-all, Avenido responded with a big shot of his own as the Beermen nailed an 11th win against four losses.
The Warriors had their chances to force overtime but Mario Wuysang, Gunawan and Steven Thomas missed an attempt each in the dying seconds as the home team reeled with an eighth loss.
It was a sweet win for the Bobby Parks-mentored Beermen following a stinging 63-66 loss to the lowly Saigon Heat in their home turf at the Ynares Center in Pasig City last week.
Jarrid Jerome Famous scored 20 points, Avenido finished with 16 points while Willard Vincent Crews – a replacement to Darlon Johnson – put in 11 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocks in his SMB debut.
The Warriors started stronger, leading by as many as 10 points midway in the opening quarter.
But the Famous-Crews tandem imposed their inside presence and the Beermen narrowed down the gap to 23-26 at the end of the period.
San Miguel seized control in the quarter, building its own double-digit advantage at 57-47.
The scores:
San Miguel Beermen 71 – Famous 20, Avenido 16, Crews 11, Fajardo 7, Yap 6, Dimaunahan 6, Fernandez 3, Ferriols 2, Baguion 0, Gonzales 0
Indonesia Warriors 69 – Thomas 19, Smith 14, Wuysang 13, Canada 9, Gunawan 9, Prihantono 5, Salangsang 0, Magsumbol 0
Quarterscores: 23-26, 37-31, 57-47, 71-69