One team is going to see its unbeaten run end this Friday when the San Miguel Beermen and the NorthPort Batang Pier collide in the second game of a doubleheader at Philsports Arena. Will the Beermen upend NorthPort? Or, will the Batang Pier pull off an upset in Pasig?

Catch this game live on Friday,  December 8 at 8 pm, Manila time.

San Miguel Beermen (3-1)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Chris Ross
  • Simon Enciso
  • J Perez
  • Ivan Aska
  • Moala Tautuaa

The Beermen downed another win in their last outing to extend their undefeated streak to three games. In their previous game, the Beermen scored a 115-110 victory over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Nov. 29. That also means that it’s nearly two weeks since they last saw action. Unfortunately for San Miguel, the long rest isn’t enough for Junemar Fajardo’s fractured hand to heal up. 

With Fajardo out, San Miguel’s offense, most especially, is taking a big hit, but not so much to view the team as an underdog versus the Batang Pier. San Miguel never really runs out of weapons. The absence of Fajardo could also open up minutes for the newly acquired Jeron Teng and will surely get CJ Perez more touches. With or without Fajardo, the Beermen should be able to pick their spots and shine against NorthPort’s mediocre defense that’s just eighth this conference with a 110.6 defensive rating.

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NorthPort Batang Pier (4-2)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Brent Paraiso
  • Jeffrei Chan
  • Joshua Munzon
  • John Calma
  • Venky Jois

The Batang Pier are rolling with newfound confidence. NorthPort enters Friday’s meeting with the Beermen on a two-game win streak, with back-to-back victories against the TNT Tropang Giga (128-123) and versus the Converge FiberXers (111-95). The Batang Pier seem to have figured things out again and will be looking to trip up an SMB side that’s missing a seven-time league Most Valuable Player.

 NorthPort import Venky Jois must have his eyes lighting up knowing Fajardo isn’t going to be playing. Jois has been an energy ball for NorthPort. He is certainly earning his money, as he’s averaging 28.2 points and 15.2 rebounds per game. With Jois leading the way, the Batang Pier have become one of the highest-scoring teams in the PBA, as it is averaging 106.3 points per game. Arvin Tolentino, Joshua Munzon, and Cade Flores are all putting up at least 11.2 points per outing and could surpass their averages this Friday against a banged-up Beermen squad.

PREDICTION:

Spread: NorthPort (+8.0) covers the spread.

Over/Under: The total (212.0) hits the Over.

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