Philippines’ San Miguel got its revenge against Sports Rev Thailand, levelling their semis series to 1-1 in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) on Saturday at Philsports Arena, in Metro Manila’s Pasig City.
San Miguel pulverised the Sports Rev, 91-60, in a game where the Beermen pulled away early behind Chris Banchero and Leo Avenido, building an 18-point spread at halftime.
The 42-24 record had paved the way to setting the second-most lopsided win in the ABL’s four seasons, according to a report by the ‘Philippine Daily Inquirer’.
“Last game we didn’t have a strong start because of complacency, our players thought we can beat them easily,” San Miguel coach Leo Austria said. “It’s the attitude of the players, it was a complete turnaround. The intensity was very high unlike in the first game.”
The 31-point difference in the final scores was the second-biggest winning margin since the Philippine Patriots crushed Malaysia by 34 points, 77-43, in 2010.
The Beermen had also ripped Malaysia by the same margin, 90-56, in 2012.
Top seed San Miguel suffered a shock in Game 1 after losing to the Thai Slammers, 60-62, on Thursday.
Austria described the loss as “most embarrassing”, as this snapped San Miguel's 16-game winning streak.
Game 3 of the best-of-five semis series is slated for Tuesday, at 7pm (8pm in Manila), at Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok.
Banchero finished with 14 points to lead the Beermen’s balanced charge on top of four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Scoreboard:
San Miguel (Beermen) 91–Banchero 14, Acuña 14, Fortuna 13, Avenido 12, Taulava 9, Cawaling 7, J. Williams 7, B. Williams 7, Menk 5, Hubalde 3, Luanzon 0, Thiele 0.
Sports Rev Thailand (Slammers) 60–Dasom 11, Charles 9, Klahan 7, Gonzaga 7, Baguion 7, Brannon 6, Apiromvilaichai 5, Kongkum 2, Lertlaokul 2,Ghogar 2, Sekteera 2, Samerjai 0.
Quarter scors: 22-13, 42-24, 60-37, 91-60