What's next for ABL San Miguel Beermen?

New league, new life for the ABL MVP

Congratulations to the newly-crowned ASEAN Basketball League champions, San Miguel Beermen!

After an impressive campaign that saw the team finish the eliminations atop with a 25-4 record, the Beermen have not only exalted revenge on the Indonesia Warriors but also reclaimed a bit of national pride for the Philippines as a whole. Though opting to carry their brand rather than the name Philippines or Pilipinas, the Beermen are our own and it is only right that each and every player on the roster be recognized for their efforts.

Leading the charge is this season's ABL Most Valuable Player Asi Taulava, who at 40 years of age was still able to play 22 games and put up 10 ppg and 7rpg in about 27 minutes of action a game. This, after being dismissed as a "washed up, has been out for a big paycheck" by some circles. We admit to feeling the same way-- but never to the extend that the beefy 6"9 Taulava can no longer contribute to a winning team.

 Then there's the duo of ABL Finals MVP Chris Banchero (who we feel should've won the season MVP if not for his late-eliminations injury) and last season's winner Leo Avenido. Truth be told, the Beermen are clearly Banchero's team and that they'll only go as far as their matinee idol-looking point guard takes the locals. As for Avenido, he seems to have found a niche in the ABL, no longer playing like a confused combo-guard and embracing his role as a lead scorer.

Going into the next season, we hope that they are able to keep this triumvirate together if only to defend the ABL title. We've heard rumors about the league considering adding one or two more teams, with a Philippine delegation also in the mix (are they bringing The Silent War over to the ABL? Yey!), so that would make things a lot more interesting.

Seriously, the ABL has only six teams and yet played 29, TWENTY EFFIN NINE, games for the season. E halos magkapalitan na ng mukha mga player dahil sa dalas nilang maglaban amp.

We understand that there's major interest in Taulava to make a PBA comeback. But we feel like, at 40, given the shorter season and now carrying the title of ABL MVP, the big man owes it to his new Beermen fans to stay put. There's no fun in watching Taulava guarding guys shorter than him anyway in the PBA, even at his somewhat aging state. In the ABL, Taulava can actually play like the giant that he is against foreign reinforcements like Steve Thomas and the like (although we wouldn't mind seeing Taulava squaring off with Junemar Fajardo in a "passing of the torch" kind of way).

So yeah, one more season of Banchero and Taulava before one (or both) heads to the PBA.