The San Miguel Beermen can sweep the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the semifinals with a win this Sunday. Ginebra is never going to go away without a fight, though, so expect an action-packed Game 3 in Pasay. Will the Beermen get the job done? Or, will the Barangay live to fight for at least another game?

Catch this game live on Sunday,  January 28 at 6:30 pm, Manila time.

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (0-2)

Projected Starting Five:

• Scottie Thompson
• Stanley Pringle
• Jamie Malonzo
• Tony Bishop Jr
• Christian Standhardinger

Now, the Barangay need that ‘Never Say Die’ spirit to truly come into form this Sunday. One more loss to San Miguel and Ginebra will be packing their bags for an early vacation after losing Games 1 (92-90) and 2 (106-96) last Wednesday and Friday, respectively.  Ginebra has to figure out the Beermen on the defensive end of the floor. The Barangay’s defense has always been one of the stingiest in the PBA this conference, but it’s being put to an absolute test by San Miguel. 

Ginebra is bending but is not completely broken on defense, though, its offense has also been inefficient, so far in the series. The Barangay are shooting only 45 percent from the field in the series and they’re not compensating for it with effective defense. The hope for Ginebra is that it all comes together for them this Sunday. It’s not always the Barangay gets swept in a playoff series and with a master tactician in Tim Cone, one can expect Ginebra to be, at the very least, a tough strikeout for San Miguel, which could also be due for some regression after shooting well the first two games.

San Miguel Beermen (2-0)

Projected Starting Five:

• Chris Ross
• Marcio Lassiter
• CJ Perez
• Bennie Boatwright
• June Mar Fajardo

Two games down, one more to go for the Beermen. Bennie Boatwright was worth every penny (err, centavo) San Miguel is paying him, as he went off for 38 points with six 3-pointers in Game 2. Meanwhile, Junemar Fajardo had a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds.  The Beermen also knocked down 14 threes in Game 2 after only making in the series opener. 

With an imposing series lead, the Beermen should continue to feel confident with their shots. They’re already dominating inside the arc, having shot an impressive 57.7 percent on their 2-pointers. They are getting plenty of looks on several points of attack in large part because they appear to have the perfect import that fits well with the locals in Boatwright. A deep bench is also added insurance for San Miguel, which got seven points in less than nine minutes from Jeron Teng in Game 2.

PREDICTION:

Spread: Ginebra (-3.5) covers the spread.

Over/Under: The total (200.5ba) hits the Under.