SAN MIGUEL Beer booked a return trip to the championship series after a thorough semifinal demolition of Sports Rev Thailand, 3-1, in the Asean Basketball League (ABL) Thursday night at Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok.
Former PBA MVP Asi Taulava and Paulo Hubalde fueled a strong second half as the Beermen turned back the gritty Slammers, 77-61, in Game 4 of the best-of-five series.
“It’s really a big relief,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria. “They snatched our winning streak and that made us tougher.”
The Slammers pulled off a shocker in the series opener, 62-60, that snapped the Beermen’s record 16-game run.
But the top seeds avenged the homecourt loss with a vicious 31-point rout, 91-60, followed by a 70-62 triumph in Game 3.
Tabbed to go all the way this time, the Beermen arranged a repeat title showdown with Indonesia Warriors starting at 8 p.m. on Friday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Led by former MVP Mario Wuysang and Filipino-American Stanley Pringle, the defending champions swept Westports Malaysia Dragons, 3-0, in their own series.
The first two games of the best-of-five Finals will be played in Manila, before the series heads to Jakarta for Games 3 and 4. Jasmine W. Payo
The scores:
SAN MIGUEL BEER 77—Hubalde 16, Taulava 15, B. Williams 10, Avenido 9, Banchero 8, J. Williams 6, Fortuna 6, Menk 3, Cawaling 2, Luanzon 2, Acuña 0, Thiele 0.
SPORTS REV THAILAND 61—Charles 15, Brannon 10, Baguion 8, Dasom 6, Klahan 5, Apiromvilaichai 5, Lertlaaokul 4, Sekteera 3, Kongkum 2, Ghogar 2, Gonzaga 1, Samerjai 0.
Quarters: 21-13, 33-30, 53-41, 77-61