The San Miguel Beermen able to hang-on and snagged its first victory in East Asia Super League against the Shenzhen Aviators, 90-76.
SMB import Dezmine Wells powered the coach Leo Austria squad with his 29 points and eight rebounds.
He is impressive in his first game as a Beermen though still too early to judge his long term performance with his new team yet it seems that the second grand slam for the franchise is bright.
Terrence Romeo got the second honors in the scoring department where he dropped 17 points.
Romeo’s two three-pointers in the fourth quarter helped spark the Beermen to take back the driving wheel of the game.
San Miguel took an early lead where they piled as much as 20 points in the opening quarter.
Yet, the Aviators where resilient and slowly they trimmed down the double-digit deficit. Then in the third quarter, they were back at a striking distance with 61-62 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Beermen’s multiple appearances in the Finals most likely helped them as they didn’t panic and stick to their game plan.
Arwind Santos who was struggling to find the bottom of the nets in this game finally hit one at the 6:03 mark which gave way to their comeback.
San Miguel didn’t look back as they on their way to victory.
The Beermen will return in action on September 19 and will face Japan’s Ryuku Golden Kings.
San Miguel vs Shenzhen Box Score
Beermen (90)– Wells 29, Romeo 17, Ross 11, Standhardinger 11, Prosper 10, Santos 9, Pessumal 3
Aviators (76) – Jackson 18, X. He 11, Shen 10, Rong 9, Lu 6, Zhao 6, Bai 6, Han 5, Z.He 3, Yang 2