Round 23: SM Beermen loses to Formosa D.

Tevin Glass

The Regular Season in ASEAN League is slowly approaching the end. But there may be still some important changes in the final standings in the last 4 rounds. The round was rather attractive and full of interesting results. The round ended with defeat of the leader and favorites losing the games. Here is the last round review presented by ESL.

Top ranked Filipino SM Beermen (18-5) recorded its fifth loss in Changhua City on Sunday night. Visitors were defeated by second ranked Taiwanese Formosa D. (17-6) 79-71. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of SM Beermen. It may be a crucial game in the contest for the top position in the league. Formosa D. made 18-of-22 free shots (81.8 percent) during the game. The best player for the winners was American forward Tevin Glass (206-94, college: E.Tenn.St.) who had a double-double by scoring 27 points and 12 rebounds. His fellow American import guard Malcolm Miller (201-91, college: Southern) chipped in 18 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. American-Filipino guard Bobby-Ray Parks (193-93) produced 27 points and 6 rebounds for the guests. Formosa D. have an impressive series of seven victories in a row. They maintain second place with 17-6 record behind leader SM Beermen. SM Beermen at the other side still keeps top position with five games lost. Formosa D. will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. SM Beermen will play on the road against Macau and is hoping to win this game.
Very important is a home loss of third ranked Singapore Singapore Slingers (13-9) against seventh ranked Indonesian CLS Knights (12-12) on Sunday night. Host Singapore Slingers were defeated by CLS Knights in a tough game in Singapore 95-99. American guard Doug Herring-Jr (191-87, college: Utica) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 36 points (!!!), 11 rebounds and 7 assists. Maxie Esho contributed with 29 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. American guard Jerran Young (198-91, college: Wright St.) answered with a double-double by scoring 41 points (!!!) and 10 rebounds for Singapore Slingers. Singapore Slingers' coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. CLS Knights moved-up to sixth place. Singapore Slingers at the other side keep the third position with nine games lost. CLS Knights will play against higher ranked Saigon Heat (#5) at home in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Singapore Slingers will play against Westports MD in Kuala Lumpur and hope to get back on the winning track.
An interesting game was played in Bangkok where host Thailand Mono Vampire (#8) won against 5th ranked Vietnamese Saigon Heat 89-83 on Wednesday evening. It was a great evening for Michael Singletary who led his team to a victory with a triple-double by scoring 17 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists and 7 steals. Mono Vampire's coach used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Kyle Barone responded with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 16 rebounds. Mono Vampire maintains eighth place with 8-14 record. Loser Saigon Heat keeps the fifth position with 11 games lost. Mono Vampire will meet higher ranked Macau (#7) on the road in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Saigon Heat will play against CLS Knights in Surabaya and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Filipino leader SM Beermen delivered the eighteenth victory. This time they beat 6th ranked Chinese Macau (11-10) 101-96 in Manila. It was a quality performance for Renaldo Balkman who led the winners with a double-double by scoring 26 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. SM Beermen's coach allowed to play the deep bench players in such tough game. SM Beermen maintains first place with 18-5 record. Macau at the other side dropped to the seventh position with ten games lost. SM Beermen's next round opponent will be again Macau (#7) on the road which should be theoretically an easy game. Macau will play against Mono Vampire and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
We should mention about the upset which took place in Kuala Lumpur, where higher ranked Vietnamese Saigon Heat (12-11) lost to ninth ranked Malaysian Westports MD (7-14) in a road game 76-80 on Sunday. The game was dominated by American players. The best player for the winners was Winston Shepard who had a double-double by scoring 23 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists. Westports MD maintains ninth place with 7-14 record. Loser Saigon Heat keeps the fifth position with 11 games lost. Westports MD will face higher ranked Singapore Slingers (#3) at home in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Saigon Heat will play against CLS Knights in Surabaya and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

In the last two games of round 23 Westports MD was crushed by Macau in a road game 87-62. Formosa D. smashed Zhuhai at home 97-78.