Asi, Menk lead Beermen past Slammers in Game 3

Manila, Philippines – The San Miguel Beermen bucked the absence of their imports down the stretch as veterans Asi Taulava and Eric Menk held the fort in a pivotal win that gave them the homecourt edge back.

The two former PBA MVPs hit San Miguel’s final five points in a 70-62 win against Sports Rev Thailand Slammers in Game Three of their Asean Basketball League (ABL) best-of-five semifinal series Tuesday night at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok City.

Without Brian Williams and Justin Williams in the final four minutes of the game, Menk and Taulava took turns in bailing out the Beermen from a big collapse.

Menk, the 2004 PBA MVP, made a bucket and a charity split to give the Beermen a huge lift, 68-59, with under a minute left.

Thailand did not just go away as Filipino import Froilan Baguion answered with a triple to make it a two-possession game with 31.8 seconds left in the game.

Taulava, the 2003 PBA MVP, iced the game with two free throws as he went 9-of-12 at the line to finish with 13 points and six rebounds.

The win was San Miguel’s second in a row after dropping the series opener at home in a heartbreaking fashion.

The 62-60 loss in Game One stoked the fire under the Beermen’s belly as they turned red-hot in Game Two running away with a 91-60 rebound win. They appeared headed to another easy victory when they started this game on fire with a 12-0 blast.

Looking confident all throughout the first half, the Beermen increased their lead to as many as 21 points, 39-18, midway through the second quarter.  But the visiting Beerment turned cold for almost six minutes at the start of the second half as the Slammers mounted a big run cutting the huge deficit down to just five, 45-40, on a Darius Brannon basket.

The Beermen, however, stood their ground amidst the furious Slammers' rally and took a nine-point edge, 50-41, to the fourth quarter.

Another Thailand run to start the payoff period trimmed the gap to the closest it could get, 52-48, but then again, the Beermen stayed composed. San Miguel steadied at the line to bring it back to a double-digit spread, 62-52, until the two Williams fouled out.

Brian Williams scored 14 points, including 11 in the opening half, before he went out for good with 4:45 left. Justin Williams had nine points, five boards and four shot blocks before leaving the game in the final three and a half minutes.

Banchero struggled for seven points on 2-of-11 shooting but his putback with two and a half minutes left in the game proved to be crucial as that gave the Beermen a seven-point cushion, 65-58, before their veteran big men took over.

Chris Charles and Baguion led the Slammers with 17 and 13 points, respectively. 

The Beermen will go for the kill to move on to the Finals for the second straight year on Thursday still at Nimibutr Stadium. A Game Five, if necessary, will be played here on Monday at the Ynares Sports Arena.