SAN MIGUEL Beer tries to recover from a “most embarrassing” loss to Sports Rev Thailand when they collide again today in Game 2 of their Asean Basketball League (ABL) semifinal series at Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
The Thais upset the favored Beermen, 62-60, Thursday night at Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo City with Darongpang Apiromvilaichai burying the game-winning jumper in the dying seconds to snap the top seed’s record 16-game run.
Noting his Beermen’s poor execution on both ends, coach Leo Austria expects his team to quickly rebound from the loss in their second meeting, set at
3 p.m. Game 3 of the best-of-five series is scheduled in Bangkok next week.
Defending champion Indonesia and Westports Malaysia tangle in the other semifinal pairing in Jakarta.
“This is the most embarrassing moment for us this season,” Austria said after the No. 4-ranked Slammers dealt the Beermen their first loss in three months.
“I gave the team a warning, that I’m really worried about Thailand because they have the materials to beat any team in the ABL. And it happened because we did not perform well both in offense and defense. The team was still riding high on our 16 consecutive wins.”
Darongpang nailed the game-winner off a feed from Filipino import Froilan Baguion after the Beermen had tied the game at 60 on two Chris Banchero free throws with just 13 seconds left.
“I was confident when I took the shot,” said Darongpang. “I just followed coach; he told me to go to the corner and knock down the shot.”
Christien Charles paced the Slammers with 24 points and 13 rebounds while Kannawat Lertlaokul shot 10.
“Our Thai players have been great all year,” said Thailand coach Joe Bryant, father of NBA superstar Kobe Bryant. “But we expect them (Beermen) to come back strong.”
The out-of-sync Beermen committed 25 turnovers in Game 1.
The scores:
SPORTS REV THAILAND 62—Charles 24, Lertlaokul 10, Brannon 8, Klahan 7, Gonzaga 4, Apiromvilaichai 4, Baguion 3, Ghogar 2, Kongkum 0, Sekteera 0, Dasom 0, Samerjai 0.
SAN MIGUEL BEER 60—Banchero 13, J. Williams 12, B. Williams 12, Taulava 6, Hubalde 5, Avenido 5, Acuña 3, Fortuna 2, Thiele 2, Cawaling 0, Menk 0.
Quarters: 17-17, 36-31, 47-42, 62-60