THE SAN MIGUEL Beermen forged a three-way logjam for second place in the standings after they routed the Saigon Heat, 85-62, in the 3rd AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League at the Tan Binh Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
The Beermen’s reinforcements, Dalron Johnson and Doug Thomas, led San Miguel’s barrage as they took control of the match from the third period onwards after struggling to put away the Heat in the first half.
Johnson buried 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while Thomas also wound up with a double-double of 18 markers and 10 boards.
Leo Avenido emerged as the top local performer anew with 16 points, while Allan Mangahas delivered his best game yet by scoring all of his 11 points in the second half against the winless Heat.
The win gave the Beermen a 4-2 (win-loss) record, the same as the Westport Malaysia Dragons and the Singapore Slingers. The country’s other squad in the tournament, the AirAsia Philippine Patriots, remain in the lead with a 4-1 mark.
Malaysia improved to second after the Dragons’ 106-72 rout of Chang Thailand. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio