Game today (Ynares Sports Arena)
4 p.m. – San Miguel Beermen vs Westports Malaysia
MANILA, Philippines - A short-handed San Miguel Beer tries to settle old score as they go up against the Westports Malaysia Dragons when they host today’s Asean Basketball League game at the Ynares Sports Arena.
Beermen coach Leo Austria hopes import Matt Rogers and the rest will step up in the absence of Gabe Freeman (suspension) and Erik Menk (injury) when they hit the court at 4 p.m. against a team that beat them the last time they met (76-82).
“We will miss Gabe’s energy, not to mention his production. But we have to make do with what we have and rely on Matt and the rest of the locals to carry us through,†said Austria.
Freeman, who averages 18.29 points, 10.43 rebounds and 1.86 assists, will sit out as sanction for his “unsportsmanlike conduct and unnecessary/excessive physical contact†in the Beermen’s 66-55 win over the Slingers last Sunday.
The veteran Menk, who is good for 7.57 ppg and 3.14 rpg, suffered a fractured nose in the Singapore game and will be out for a month. He underwent nasal bone operation yesterday.
Rogers, who is filling in for injured Brian Williams, has to assert himself more. In his debut against Singapore, the former San Mig Coffee import netted only eight points for SMB, which benefited from the 16-point production of Chris Banchero.
SMB (4-3) will also have to neutralize the Dragons’ new reinforcements, Sammy Monroe and Justin Melton, who dominated them the last time around. Monroe, a former Barako import, dumped 32 points on the Beermen while Melton, a Gilas cadet mainstay, shot 19.
Then there’s the need to remedy SMB’s blow-hot, blow-cold tendency. The team has alternated winning and losing this season, and it is gunning to break that with back-to-back wins.
“Consistency remains to be our main concern, but it is a good thing that we are very much in contention with four wins this early in the tournament,†said Austria.
“We have more than enough time to pull our acts together,†he added.