San Miguel wins 2013 ABL title

The San Miguel Beermen from the Philippines defeated the Indonesia Warriors 70-55 in Game 3 of the finals to claim their first ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) championship. The Beermen joined the league in 2012, but went through a complete overhaul for their sophomore season. The changes that they made were effective as they were able to sweep the defending champions during the finals series.

The game was pretty straightforward as the visiting Beermen took control from the opening quarter and did not look back. They secured a solid six-point lead going into halftime, 33-27. Strong defense locked down the home team and limited the Warriors’ output in the final quarter to only 12 points.

San Miguel was led by ageless Paulasi Taulava (208 cm), who turned 40 in March. He finished the game with a team-high 19 points. Chris Banchero (185 cm, Seattle Pacific’11) and Leo Avenido (186 cm) added 10 points each in the winning effort.

The Warriors were led by Mario Wuysang (176 cm) with 21 points. The team’s import, Chris Daniels (200 cm, Georgia’04), chipped in 15 points and 19 boards.