Beermen defang Cobras, stay at second

MANILA, Philippines - The San Miguel Beermen used a strong first half charge to defang the Bangkok Cobras, 86-78, and remain behind pacesetting AirAsia Philippine Patriots in the third ASEAN Basketball League at Chulalongkorn University gym in Bangkok, Thailand yesterday.

Leo Avenido, who groped for just nine points in the Beermen’s 75-65 win over the Singapore Slingers last week, fired 19 of his game-high 33 points in the first two quarters while import Lamar Johnson added 13 as the Beermen built a 43-33 lead which they used as a cushion to hold off the rallying Cobras.

It was San Miguel’s 10th victory against three defeats, staying half-a-game behind the Patriots heading to the crucial phase of the tournament.

Westports Malaysia is in third with a 7-5 mark while the rest are too far behind the leaders. Bangkok slid to 5-6 for fourth followed by Indonesia (5-7), Singapore (4-8), Chang Thailand (4-8) and Saigon (3-8).

Avenido highlighted his big offensive stint with six triples.

While Avenido supplied the firepower, Johnson and fellow import Jarrid Famous provided the inside strength as they barreled their way to 20 and 12 points, respectively.

George Travis and Gentry Lewis led the Cobras by combining for 35 points while guards Marvin Cruz and Jai Reyes added 16 and 14 markers, respectively.