SMB stars Taulava, Banchero lead race

SAN MIGUEL Beer’s Chris Banchero and Asi Taulava lead the Most Valuable Player race, but the two stars would rather clinch the championship for the Beermen in the Asean Basketball League (ABL).

Banchero and Taulava landed on the league’s list of top five players this season, which also includes two Filipinos playing as imports.

“My focus now is to win the ABL championship,” said Banchero, the Filipino-Italian guard who played a pivotal role in the Beermen’s record 16-game winning streak.

The Beermen will battle defending champion Indonesia Warriors in a rematch of last year’s title series starting at 8 p.m. on Friday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Banchero, back in shape after getting sidelined by a thigh injury late in the eliminations, led the Beermen in points (16.4ppg), assists (4.19 apg) and steals (2.19 spg).

Still on top of his game at 40, Taulava averaged 10.9 points and 7.4 rebounds on his debut season after a stellar career in the PBA where he also won the MVP in 2003.

Sports Rev Thailand’s Froilan Baguion also had an incredible year as the Filipino guard led the league in assists (9.2 apg), highlighted by a record 17 feeds in a single game, aside from posting the league’s first triple-double of 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

Saigon’s Jai Reyes normed 13.8 points and six assists that made the Filipino guard one of the bright spots in the Heat’s injury-plagued campaign. Indonesia’s Mario Wuysang, the only non-Filipino in the top five, averaged 11.9 points for the Warriors.