Beermen, Dragons shoot for finals slot

AS THE lone Philippine squad left standing, San Miguel Beer aims to put the country back in the championship round of the Asean Basketball League.

The Beermen fight for the last title berth against the Westports Malaysia Dragons in the do-or-die Game 3 of the semifinals at 4 p.m. today at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

“We are carrying the country’s hopes in this fight for the finals berth,” said San Miguel coach Bobby Parks, who expects imports Nick Fazekas and Duke Crews to rebound from a mediocre outing in Game 2.

“In Nick’s part, it was more of an off-night,” noted Parks. “For Duke, there were shots that just rolled out of the rim. We really need big games from them since imports will decide this series. Although we have a deep bench, only three locals play at a time, so the imports will be a big factor.”

The Indonesia Warriors already claimed the first championship slot after sweeping the AirAsia Philippine Patriots, 2-0, in their own best-of-three series.

It will be the first time in three seasons that the Patriots, the league’s inaugural champions, will miss the title round.

Fazekas and Crews only had a combined 27 points in the Beermen’s 77-100 Game 2 loss, while their counterparts Brian Williams and Tiras Wade accounted for more than half of the Dragons’ output with 60 markers.