Beermen crush Slammers, gain lead in ABL

MANILA, Philippines - The San Miguel Beermen needed some time to get into the groove before imposing their mastery over Chang Thailand Slammers, 103-76, yesterday to seize the solo lead in the third ASEAN Basketball League at the Thai Japanese Association Gym in Bangkok, Thailand.

Imports Nick Fazekas and Duke Crews and locals Leo Avenido and Chris Banchero combined for 66 points, nearly matching the output of the whole Slammers team as the Beermen notched their fourth straight win for a front-running 14-4 card.

Erstwhile co-leader AirAsia Phl Patriots slid to second with a 13-4 mark. 

This marked the first time powerhouse SMB stood at the top and breached the 100-point mark since joining the league this year.

“For a 40-minute game under FIBA rules, that’s something,” said San Miguel Corp. sports director Noli Eala.

Fazekas dropped 22 points on a 10-of-18 shooting while the highly touted Fil-Am Banchero rifled in 15 markers, the same output as Avenido, who went seven-of-11. Crews shot 14 on a five-of-nine clip.

Benedict Fernandez also chipped in 10 points as the Beermen flaunted their firepower against the Slammers, who dropped to 5-13 and now teeter on the brink of ouster from the playoffs scene. The Slammers also found themselves swept by the semis-bound SMB in all their meetings in the triple-round elims.

It wasn’t a San Miguel show from start to finish, though.

The Slammers, who only had nine players for the match as some of their mainstays are bound by military duties, jumped the gun on a slow-starting SMB quintet, 17-6.

But the Beermen, behind Crews and Avenido, fought back with a furious first-quarter windup to tie the game at 26.

SMB then clamped down on defense in the second period, holding the Slammers to only four baskets out of 17 tries and forcing them to a series of turnovers to rip the game apart, 52-38.

It was virtually the same story in the next 20 minutes with the Beermen pounding on the erratic Slammers and stepping on the gas en route to posting their biggest lead at 32, 89-57, on a triple by Fernandez, 8:14 left in the contest.

The Beermen scored 22 points from the Slammers’ 20 turnovers. They also showed teamwork with 29 assists, led by Banchero’s seven and Fazekas’ five, and stripped their rivals of possession 14 times, led by Fernandez’s four steals.

Calvin Williams paced the Slammers with 20 points and 17 rebounds.