THE SAN MIGUEL Beermen shrugged off a tough shooting night and defeated the reigning champions Indonesia Warrriors, 64-53, to kick off their title campaign in style in the 4th ASEAN Basketball League late Friday night at the Mahaka Square in Jakarta.
The Beermen just shot a paltry 35 percent from the field but it was enough to give them the win as their defense held up and kept the Warriors to a 30 percent clip.
Center Brian Williams had a huge game for San Miguel with 15 points and 19 rebounds while shifty guard Chris Banchero added 14.
The game was close until the Beermen unleashed an 11-6 run near the end of the third to snatch a 45-36 lead heading to the fourth.
League MVP Leo Avenido shot a three-pointer for a 48-38 lead, an advantage that would hold up until the final buzzer.
Former PBA stalwarts Asi Taulava and Eric Menk debuted for SMB with two and six points, respectively. Taulava also contributed 10 boards.
Next up for the Beermen will be the Saigon Heat on Jan. 26 in Vietnam.
The Warriors were paced by their imports Steve Thomas and Chris Daniels, with 15 and 10 points, respectively while Cebuano guard Jerick Canada added nine. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio