Johnson takes over as Beermen nip Warriors

MANILA, Philippines - San Miguel rode on Darlon Lamar Johnson’s game-long brilliance as new import Jarrid Famous struggled as the Beermen came from behind to edge the visiting Indonesian Warriors, 81-77, in overtime and keep its hold of third spot in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) at the Ynares Sports Center in Pasig City last night.

Johnson topscored with 27 points and pulled down 16 rebounds as he almost single-handedly rallied the Beermen from 12 points down in the third quarter. He also had two assists, a steal and a block as San Miguel nailed its sixth win against three losses.

It was more than enough to offset a disappointing ABL debut by Famous, who replaced injured Doug Thomas.

Famous groped for form, missing all his four shots while turning the ball over three times against five rebounds and a shot block.

But Johnson kept the Beermen in the game all throughout.

“We didn’t give up, the guys hung tough,” said San Miguel coach Bobby Parks Sr., a seven-time PBA Best Import awardee.

Leo Avenido backed Johnson with 17 points while Froilan Baguion, member of the teams of Harbour Centre and Thailand Slammers that ruled the first two stagings of the ABL, orchestrated the team’s play and made nine assists while scoring 14 points and pulling down five rebounds.

Junemar Fajardo, the 6-9 behemoth from Visayan champion University of Cebu, held his ground against bullstrong Indonesia import Steven Thomas, chipping in 12 points while grabbing seven boards.

Larry Jonathan Smith paced the Warriors with 21 points, mostly on slam dunks, while Indonesian Mario Wuysang had 18 points, including three triples, nine assists and two rebounds.

But the Beermen clamped down on Wuysang in overtime.

The Warriors, who led by as many as 12 points, 63-51, fell to 4-5.

With Avenido taking over in the early going, the Beermen took control at 17-8 but the Warriors settled down and neutralized the Beermen’s running game with clutch outside shooting before wresting the lead in the third period.

The scores:

San Miguel 81– Johnson 27, Avenido 17, Baguion 14, Fajardo 12, Gonzales 5, Dimaunahan 3, Fernandez 2, Ferriols 1, Cabatu 0

In donesia Warriors 77 – Smith 21, Wuysang 18, Salangsang 13, Thomas 9,  Prihantono 8, Gunawan 5, Canada 3,

Quarterscores: 20-18; 34-37; 51-63; 75-75 (Reg.); 81-77 (OT)