Beermen face big test

It’s a great opportunity for our team especially for the players playing against Lance Stephenson

LANCE Stephenson will be the man to watch when Liaoning Flying Leopards battles San Miguel Beer.

MACAU — San Miguel Beer faces its biggest battle here yet as it takes on Liaoning Flying Leopards at the start of the knockout semifinal stage of East Asia Super League Terrific 12 invitational tournament today at the Tap Seac-Multi-Sport Pavilion.

The Beermen enter the 7 p.m. match as underdogs as ex-National Basketball Association (NBA) veterans Lance Stephenson and Salah Mejri banner the Chinese club.

In the other semifinal encounter, Korea’s Seoul SK Knights and Zhejiang Guangsha Lions of China clash at 5 p.m.

Both San Miguel and Liaoning went undefeated in their respective groups but the Flying Leopards, with nine-year NBA veteran Stephenson leading charge, are slightly favored in the do-or-die contest.

“It’s a great opportunity for our team especially for the players playing against Lance Stephenson. Everybody knew him but we’re playing not only against him. This is not one on one. Let’s see what will happen,” Beermen head coach Leo Austria said.

“And he’s not really our main concern. We have a lot of players to be concerned about. And as far as I’m concerned, the team wants to win,” he added.

Denz Wells has been a spark for the undermanned San Miguel in this 12-club competition with his athletic abilities, giving the grand slam-seeking Beermen a major weapon on offense and defense.

Terrence Romeo, the Finals Most Valuable Player of the recent Commissioner’s Cup, is also displaying his old form while Chris Ross, Arwind Santos, Christian Standhardinger and Lester Prosper are giving the team a big lift on defense.

“We’re gonna play hard to get the win. We heard a lot of people will be watching. That’s something we’re used to. We just hope for the best,” said Ross, who is expected to be part of the rotation of Austria in slowing down Stephenson.

The Brooklyn native is averaging 28 points, 6.5 rebounds and seven assists in this tournament while the seven-foot-two Mejri, a member of the Tunisia basketball team, is chipping in 25.5 points, 8 rebounds and 3.5 blocks for the Chinese club.

“This is a great tournament and I’m having a lot of fun,” Stephenson said. “I’m still learning my coach and my teammates and every game, my approach is it’s like a championship game.”

Wells has been carrying the scoring load for San Miguel here with 36.5 points per outing while Romeo (17.5) and Prosper (12.5) are also pitching in offensively.

“I give it out to my teammates and the coaches. They made a great job for putting me in this position,” said the high-flying Wells.

“Those guys have championship pedigree. I’m just blessed to be in this competition and play against them. I feel like I already won,” he added.

Aside from Stephenson and Mejri, Mingchen Cong is another player that San Miguel needs to slow down as the six-foot-seven forward is averaging 16.5 points per game in the group stage.