The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel are on a roll, and they will be looking to win their third game in a row when they go up against the Converge FiberXers. Will the Barangay dig Converge a deeper hole, or will the FiberXers pull off an upset?

Catch this game live on Friday,  July 1 at 6 pm, Manila time.

The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (4-1)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: LA Tenorio
  • SG: Stanley Pringle
  • SG: Scottie Thompson
  • PF: Christian Standhardinger
  • C: Japeth Aguilar

After getting tripped up in the Manila Clasico by the Magnolia Hotshots, the Barangay have roared right back with two consecutive wins, beating the NLEX Road Warriors (83-75) and the San Miguel Beermen (75-72). Ginebra is having plenty of success with its defense that has yet to allow 90 points in a game this conference. Both the Road Warriors and the Beermen boast of top-5 offenses, each averaging over 90 points per game, but neither was even able to score at least 76 points opposite Ginebra’s defense. 

Part of what makes Ginebra such a force on the defensive end of the court is its confidence in its frontcourt to handle rim attackers. With Japeth Aguilar in the middle, Ginebra can afford to stick closer to perimeter shooters, while also needing less double-team help. Scottie Thompson’s versatility on defense has also been a massive shot in the arm of Ginebra. Aguilar leads the team with 2.4 blocks per game, while Thompson is right behind him with 1.0 swats per contest. As a team, the Barangay lead the PBA with a 9.7 BLK%.

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The Converge FiberXers (2-4)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: RK Ilagan
  • SG: Michael DiGregorio
  • SF: Jeron Teng
  • PF: Ben Adamos
  • C: Justin Arana

Converge still couldn’t put together a winning streak so far in its first season in the league. The FiberXers beat the Terrafirma Dyip on June 22, 97-84, but fell prey to the San Miguel Beermen on June 26, 111-92. They are now 1-3 straight up in their last four games. Despite the losses, a few bounces going their way could have the FiberXers among the top teams in the standings. In their PBA debut, the FiberXers lost to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters by only two points. 

They also suffered a 3-point defeat at the hands of the TNT Tropang Giga. Converge’s offense needs lots of work, as the team is just ninth with a 95.5 points per 100 possessions, but that could be enough to keep in step with Ginebra, which is right below the FiberXers with just 95.0 points per 100 possessions. Mike DiGregorio is on a hot stretch, and he could be a handful for the Barangay, especially if he gets it going early. DiGregorio has scored 40 points in the last two Converge games, going 16/28 from the field in that span.

PREDICTION:

Spread: Converge (+6) covers the spread.

Over/Under: Taking the Under (170.5) for this game.

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