The Rain or Shine will try to become the first team in Group B to reach six wins when they square off against the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel to end the work week. Beating a red-hot Ginebra side is going to be easier said than done, though, with the Barangay arriving at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on a win streak.

Catch this game live on Friday,  September 13 at 7:30 pm, Manila time.

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (4-2)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Scottie Thompson
  • Maverick Ahanmisi
  • Stephen Holt
  • Justin Brownlee
  • Japeth Aguilar

After a shaky start to the conference where it lost two of its first three games, Ginebra has seemingly found its rhythm at last. The Barangay enter Friday on a three-game win streak after defeating avenging their August 30 loss to the Blackwater Bossing in a 112-98 win last Tuesday.

 Scottie Thompson was in his MVP form in the Blackwater game as he had 21 points on 8/17 shooting from the field while also adding 11 assists and 10 rebounds in a complete all-around effort. That was not the version of Thompson that played in Ginebra’s 73-64 loss to Rain or Shine earlier in the conference, where he scored just four points on a salty 1/10 shooting from the field and finished with a brutal minus-21. With Thompson seemingly back in his top form, expect him to be a much bigger factor in the rematch against Rain or Shine.

Ginebra’s offense has been deadly of late, as the Barangay have averaged 113.6 points in its last three outings.

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Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (5-1)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Adrian Nocum
  • Anton Asistio
  • Francis Escandor
  • Jhonard Clarito
  • Aaron Fuller

If it wasn’t for a Junemar Fajardo miracle jumper, the Elasto Painters would have still been left undefeated through their first six games in this conference. Nevertheless, Rain or Shine is clearly a dangerous side that is getting quality contributions from nearly across the board. Just take for example their 122-107 win over the Phoenix Fuel Masters where eight Rain or Shine players scored at least 10 points, including import Aaron Fuller. He had 16 points and 11 boards. 

Fuller isn’t much of a true bucket-getter, but he’s an energy bunny, especially on the glass. In the first meeting with Ginebra, Fuller had 16 points and a bonkers total of 23 rebounds. No one should also be sleeping on Felix Lemetti at this point anymore, as he continues to make a name for himself. He had his breakout game right away, scoring 13 points in the win over Ginebra last August.

Picks

Spread: Rain or Shine (-1.5)

Over/Under: Under (209.5)

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