The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel will try to make things quick in their quarterfinals matchup against the Converge FiberXers, as a win by the crowd darlings will be enough for them to advance to the semifinal round. But that is going to be easier said than done versus a Converge squad that is seeking to wreak havoc and take out a powerhouse.
Catch this game live on Friday, June 20, 2025 at 7:30 pm, Manila time.
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (0-0)
Projected Starting Five:
- Scottie Thompson
- RJ Abarrientos
- Stephen Holt
- Troy Rosario
- Japeth Aguilar
Thanks to an 8-3 record during the elimination phase, Ginebra got the last twice-to-beat ticket that they will look to capitalize on this Friday. The Barangay enter the quarterfinals in great form, based on their three-game win streak to close out their schedule before the playoffs. All of Ginebra’s wins in that stretch also came at the expense of playoff teams, including the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, who got crushed by Ginebra last Sunday, 98-80. On paper, it appears that Converge is a great matchup for the Barangay, considering the fact that they clobbered the FiberXers last May, 85-66.
Japeth Aguilar accepted the challenge of Converge’s much younger big men and succeeded, as he had 23 points on an 11-for-16 shooting from the field with 10 rebounds and three blocks. Ginebra’s defense also bothered the FiberXers, who shot an atrocious 31.3 percent from the field and committed 18 turnovers. Stephen Holt has also found his groove in time for the postseason, as he’s coming off a 27-point eruption in the ROS game/. He’ll be another player Converge will have to worry about.
Converge FiberXers (0-0)
Projected Starting Five:
- Alec Stockton
- Schonny Winston
- King Caralipio
- Justine Baltazar
- Justin Arana
Converge missed out on a twice-to-beat spot, but the FiberXers sent a strong message to the rest of the league when they took down the San Miguel Beermen last week, 100-97. The FiberXers leaned on their inside-outside combo of Schonny Winston and Justin Arana, with the former going off for 25 points while the latter had 21 points. Tim Cone knows the threat that Converge poses to his squad, saying that “They [FiberXers] have two really solid bigs that are really hard to handle and match up to” (h/t INQUIRER.net).
Arana and Justin Baltazar indeed form an intimidating combo up front for the FiberXers. Baltazar had 13 points and 10 boards in the previous meeting with the Barangay but Arana struggled from the field in that contest, going just 2-for-11 for nine points. Nevertheless, Converge’s big guys will have major roles this Friday. Meanwhile, Winston is a guy who could open things up for his team’s attack after lighting up the Beermen. The same can be said about Alec Stockton, who could be due for a big game after scoring just seven points on a salty 2-for-12 shooting in the San Miguel game.
