JAKARTA—San Miguel Beer hopes to tough it out one more time as it shoots for a championship sweep tonight against an Indonesian squad that kept pushing it to the limit in the Asean Basketball League (ABL) finals.
The Beermen vow to wrap it up away from home in Game 3 of the best-of-five series, set at 7 p.m. (8 p.m. Philippine time) at Mahaka Square here.
“We’re presented with a great opportunity, we have to pounce on it,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.
Flashing remarkable resilience in their two scrambling wins, the Beermen believe they can do much better after prevailing by an average of three points.
“We know that a sweep will be difficult,” said Austria. “But we have the momentum, so we want to finish this early.”
Indonesia coach Todd Purves said nothing will come easy for the Beermen.
“They can expect pretty much what they’ve expected from this series,” said Purves. “Close game, absolute dogfight, down the wire.”
The Beermen pulled off a great 66-65 escape in Game 2, perfectly executing the game-winning play that Brian Williams completed with an unmolested undergoal stab.
In Game 1, the Beermen scored a 75-70 squeaker where MVP Asi Taulava pumped in the team’s last six points to finish with a game-high 22.
Austria remains wary of Stanley Pringle, the explosive Filipino-American guard playing as an import for Indonesia.
Pringle, the finals hero in the Warriors’ title romp last year, could have reprised his role had he nailed his last-gasp attempt in Game 2. But he still got away with a game-high 21 points.