ABL Finals: Beermen lose; Series tied 1-1

What a huge difference playing in front of your hometown fans make in a championship series such as the ABL Finals showdown between the San Miguel Beermen and Indonesia Warriors.

Warriors are taking the fight to the Beermen

The Warriors came out to a jam-packed arena that the Beermen could only hope for at their Ynares Center and went for the kill early. While the first quarter was tight, the Warriors broke free in the 2nd quarter by going on a mini-run and holding the Beermen to ZERO points in the first three to four minutes. The game was pretty much decided in that 2nd quarter, as the Beermen couldn't break even in the 2nd half to win the title.


What's most troubling about this series, if you're a Beermen or a Filipino basketball fan in general, is that the Warriors were actually in control of Game 1 before folding in the 4th quarter which gave the Beermen the win. In Game 2, it was more of the same. The Warriors' bigger imports were man handling the Beermen and it seems that only Duke Crews came to play for the team.

Nick Fazekas hasn't done squat versus the intimidating defense of Steve Thomas. Can't blame the guy. It's like having a poor (poor, poor, POOR) man's version of Dirk Nowitzki vs Alonzo Mourning. The cat is skilled, but he's going to be roughed up HARD all night.

For the Beermen to win, they need to play basketball. Enough with Crews' extended one-on-one forays. It's time for this team to start playing like a champion team and let the system take over. Chris Banchero and Froilan Baguion need to control the tempo, Leo Avenido needs to keep himself in the game and Fazekas has to find other ways to contribute. We all know what Crews is bringing, it's up to the other guys now to take it home.

The Warriors on the other hand, are looking more and more like the better coached team. They run when they have to, leave the ball to import Evan Brock to score, and when that's not going in, have guys like Jerick Canada, Allan Salangsang and even Arik Wisnu and Mario Wuysang to contribute.

Sadly, despite the Beermen having names like Roger Yap and Jon Ferriols, the two have been relegated to garbage time guys when the could easily win this series once inserted in the Beermen's strong 5-- Banchero, Avenido, Crews, Ferriols and Fazekas with Yap off the bench? Shit. Coach Bobby Parks is tripping.