It’s been a tough grind for the San Miguel Beermen. Can the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings continue their control and put SMB on the brink of elimination? Ginebra won Game 3, 99-94.

Catch the game this Wednesday, October 16th, at 7:30 PM, Manila time.

San Miguel Beermen (1-2)

Projected starting five:

  • Jericho Cruz
  • CJ Perez
  • EJ Anosike
  • Marcio Lassiter
  • June Mar Fajardo

The Beermen looked fine in Game 3, but they just fell short of a couple of plays, although it didn’t help that they only shot 40% from the floor, and that main guys virtually disappeared.

While import EJ Anosike showed up to the tune of 32 points and 10 boards, none of the locals were even close to the productivity. MVP June Mar Fajardo laid an egg, taking just eight shots all game and finishing with 12 points alongside five turnovers. CJ Perez had a dud night too, only 5-of-13 for 13 points. Game 2 key contributor Terrence Romeo, meanwhile, missed seven of his 10 attempts and totalled just eight points.

The writing is on the wall for the Beermen. If they drop another one, it’s one foot on the grave, which is basically two when it’s against a team like Ginebra. It’s on Fajardo and Perez to step up, especially the former, who was almost irrelevant after a monstrous Game 2.

Then again, it would be nice if the secondary and/or bench guys show up and make their money’s worth too.

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Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (2-1)

Projected starting five:

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

Ginebra wasn’t exactly efficient in its shots in Game 3 (45.8%), but the group worked hard, crashed the boards, and distributed the ball well, and those were enough.

The usual suspects were in it for the Gin Kings. Import Justin Brownlee had 30 points, nine boards, and five assists, while veteran big man Japeth Aguilar added 22 points and eight boards on 10-of-15 shooting. Surprisingly, though, guard Maverick Ahanmisi tallied a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds, which probably canceled out another ugly outing from Stephen Holt, who shot 2-of-10 for 11 points, though he did have seven boards and seven dimes.

Rookie RJ Abarrientos was fine with 8/4/5 across 21 minutes, while Scottie Thompson was abysmal again, shooting just 4-of-10 for eight points, and committing six turnovers to only two assists. Such performances are what can kill the team’s momentum, so Thompson and the coaching staff ought to fix it.

PICKS:

Spread: San Miguel (-2)

Over/Under: Over (213)

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