San Miguel Beer continued to rise to the challenge minus its top gunner as the Beermen streaked to their 14th straight victory, a 78-61 rout of Sports Rev Thailand yesterday in the Asean Basketball League (ABL) at Ynares Sports Arena.
The Beermen, playing minus the injured Chris Banchero, rallied from an early 19-28 deficit before wresting control behind big men Brian Williams and Asi Taulava.
“We can’t be complacent, we might get caught by the law of averages,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria. “They (Slammers) will do everything to pull off an upset, and it’s good that we’ll feel the pressure to step up.”
Williams unloaded 16 points and hauled down 20 boards, while Taulava shot 12 as the Beermen roared to a league-best 17-3 record.
The Beermen found their groove just before halftime, going on a 25-2 run bridging the second and third quarters for a 44-30 advantage after trailing most of the first half. With a report from Nico Pascual
The scores:
SAN MIGUEL BEER 78–Williams B. 16, Taulava 12, Rizada 11, Fortuna 9, Acuña 8, Hubalde 7, Cawaling 6, Avenido 4, Williams J. 2, Luanzon 2, Thiele 1, Menk 0.
SPORTS REV THAILAND 61–Charles 28, Baguion 6, Samerjai 6, Apiromvilaichai 5, Ghogar 4, Dasom 3, Klahan 2, Kongkum 2, Brannon 2, Gonzaga 2, Lertlaokul 1, Sekteera 0.
Quarters: 15-19, 31-28, 54-45, 78-61