The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the San Miguel Beermen will begin their best-of-7 semifinal series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Which team will draw first blood in this huge series?

Catch this game live on Sunday,  January 4, 2026 at 5:15 pm, Manila time.

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (0-0)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Scottie Thompson
  • Stephen Holt
  • Jeremiah Gray
  • Troy Rosario
  • Japeth Aguilar

Ginebra has turned into an unstoppable force, or at least that’s how the Barangay have looked on the floor since going 2-4 to start the conference. After a 106-96 loss to the Converge FiberXers in November, Ginebra has racked up seven wins in a row, including two against Juan Gomez De Liano and the FiberXers in the quarterfinals to overcome a twice-to-win disadvantage.  

In their series win against Converge, Ginebra showed that depth and coaching superiority matter, as those put the Barangay in a great position to clinch a ticket to the next round of the playoffs. Now in the semis, Ginebra will continue to count on RJ Abarrientos, who is taking the mantle for the team after scoring 55 points in the quarterfinals versus Converge. 

Ginebra lost to the Beermen in the elimination phase, 83-81, in Dubai, with Japeth Aguilar pacing the Barangay in that contest with 20 points and 12 boards, while Abbarientos and Scottie Thompson produced 17 and 15 points, respectively.

San Miguel Beermen (0-0)

Projected Starting Five:

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

Sure, Ginebra is on a roll, but its winning streak can’t hold a candle to the Beermen’s undefeated run. The Beermen started the season with back-to-back losses before waking up and smashing each team that has since crossed their path. San Miguel has won 10 straight games, including a 101-94 Christmas Day win over the NLEX Road Warriors to advance to the quarterfinals. June Mar Fajardo showed no mercy at the Road Warriors, as he went off for a monster double-double of 26 points and 24 rebounds while shooting 11/18 from the floor. He also added six assists. 

Fajardo is the clear gold standard of individual play in the PBA, and he can be expected to come up with big numbers against Ginebra. In the Dubai game, The Kraken had 17 points and 16 boards. He can make any team in the PBA feel powerless, but what makes San Miguel even harder to contain is the excellent weapons around Fajardo, such as the likes of Jericho Cruz, CJ Perez and Don Trollano, who all scored in double figures in the win over NLEX.

Picks

Spread: San Miguel Beermen (-2.5)
Over/Under: Under (195.0)