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.

The Fireball Rises

Coach Tim has The Fireball on target

If you were to tell me that a 2009 PBA draft reject were to outplay the reigning league Most Valuable Player in three straight games of the 2012 Commissioner's Cup Finals, I'd slap you silly for the blatant dumbness of it all.

Don't get it wrong, the US 2005-2006 Sunbird Awardee has legit skills for any 6"1 Filipino-American basketball player. When he first came over Philippine shores in 2006, he suited up in the PBL for UST-Kettle Korn and was already making waves as a crack point guard. He bounced around amateur leagues such as La Liga Pilipinas and then back to the PBL before entering the draft which, unfortunately for him, didn't work out.

Roger Yap: From the PBA to the ABL

Kung patapangan ang labanan,
di ka dehado kay Roger Yap

Joining the likes of serviceable PBA veterans such as John Ferriols and Eddie Laure (who both share the distinction of being one time Metropolitan Baskebtall Association Most Valuable Players), B-Meg Llamados point guard Roger Yap has opted to suit up for the San Miguel Beermen in the ASEAN Basketball League.


We’re not talking about an out of shape basketball player here (SMB’s Junjun Cabatu) or guys who couldn’t hack it in the pros because of height issues (SMB’s Froilan Baguion, Bangkok Cobras’ Jai Reyes and Marvin Cruz) or just players who are not good enough to be household names on the elite level (AirAsia’s Ardy Larong, Saigon Heat’s Ron Capati) to name a few. This is a guy who was putting up solid, clutch numbers and could take over games for the Llamados whenever his fellow Yap—James, would struggle/ shrivel in the limelight. 

ABL: San Miguel and AirAsia get chippy

AJ: high scoring import for Air Asia

In a battle of ASEAN Basketball League title favorites, the San Miguel Beermen emerged victorious over Filipino rivals AirAsia Patriots, 68-66 but not without suffering an embarrassment with the ejection of guard Aris Dimaunahan who committed a hard foul on AA import Anthony Johnson. This fracas ultimately led to a bench clearing, punches throwing incident that puts our brand of basketball in bad light.

We're all for competition and taking things seriously, but there's no room for unprofessionalism in the game of basketball. Specially with a growing league such as the ABL and with this country's role in it as the overall pioneers or gurus. It's not a secret that we Filipinos, the Patriots the last three and Beermen this year, are the ABL's ambassadors. Trying our very best to share our knowledge of the game with our neighbors.