MANILA, Philippines - Rampaging San Miguel Beermen hope to sustain their fiery form as they gun for their sixth straight win today against dangerous Saigon Heat in the third AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League at the Ynares Sports Arena.
Gametime is at 6 p.m. with the Beermen gunning for their 11th victory in 14 outings as they jockey for the leadership with idle leader AirAsia Phl Patriots (10-2).
Although on a roll and enjoying psychological edge from their 85-62 rout of the Heat the first time around, SMB coach Bobby Parks Sr. wouldn’t want to simply write off the eighth-running team from Ho Chi Minh City (3-9).
“Not one game is easy in the ABL,” Parks said after conducting team practice yesterday.
The Heat, in particular have proved they can pull off an upset, stunning Thailand Slammers (60-55), Singapore Slingers (72-67) and Malaysia Dragons (70-69) since their Feb. 11 meeting.
“Saigon is a much-improved team so have to be ready for them. They’ve changed import and won some big games since we last played them,” Parks said.
The Heat have also cranked up on their defense, yielding only 67.2 points per game since new coach Jason Rabedeaux took over the helm.
Saigon’s defense will be tested by SMB’s imports Dalron Johnson (18.54 ppg) and Jarrid Famous (12) and local Leo Avenido (14.62), who exploded with 33 points in their 86-78 road win over Bangkok Cobras last Sunday.
Parks said his wards need more improvement on defense and rebounding.
“I’m definitely not satisfied with our defense, we’re giving up too many easy shots. We also have to do a better job of rebounding because other teams are outrebounding us,” he said.
The upset-conscious Heat are seeking to get back on track after dropping their last two games, 73-57 to the Patriots and 68-72 to Indonesia Warriors.