The San Miguel Beermen are the only team without a loss in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup. Will their record stay unblemished after taking on the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel this Friday? Or, will the Barangay gain a share of the lead atop the standings with a victory? 

Catch this game live on Friday,  April 5 at 7:30 pm, Manila time.

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (3-1)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Stanley Pringle
  • Maverick Ahanmisi
  • Jamie Malonzo
  • Christian Standhardinger
  • Japeth Aguilar

Ginebra reeled in its third win of the conference at the expense of sister ball club Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots during last Sunday’s Manila Clasico 87-77 victory. That was quite a rebound for the Barangay, which lost to the Meralco Bolts before the All-Star break, 91-73. 

Stanley Pringle led Ginebra’s attack versus the Hotshots with 17 points, while Mav Ahanmisi and Japeth Aguilar each scored 16 points. Even with Scottie Thompson sidelined, the Barangay remain a dangerous unit that can deal damage inside and outside. They’re also still moving the ball well, as evidenced by their 68.5 percent assist rate – second-best in the PBA this conference. Ginebra also boasts of a stout defense that is allowing only 91.8 points per game. The high-powered Magnolia team managed to shoot just 34.7 FG% and 27.3 3FG% against Ginebra.

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San Miguel Beermen (3-0)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Chris Ross
  • CJ Perez
  • Marcio Lassiter
  • Rodney Brondial
  • June Mar Fajardo

The Beerman are still undefeated, three games into the conference. The last time they were on the court, they downed a 116-102 victory at the expense of the Phoenix LPG Fuel Masters last Sunday, 116-102. There seems to be no rust issue for San Miguel after a long rest, as they shot 50.5 versus Phoenix. 

CJ Perez was incredible in that contest, as he dropped 32 points on 13/20 shooting, while Jericho Cruz came off the bench and fired 17 points. San Miguel’s bench is a problem with Cruz and Terrence Romeo part of the the Beermen’s second unit. Romeo had 16 points against the Fuel Masters while Don Trollano also had 10 points. With so many playmakers finding their spots on offense while opposing defenses struggle to deal with Junemar Fajardo, the Beermen are unsurprisingly leading the PBA with a 46.8 FG%.

Picks

Spread: San Miguel  (-4.0)

Over/Under: Under (193.5)

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