The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel will be thumping their chests as they make their way to the Ynares Center in Antipolo this Sunday, as they look to continue their winning ways after copping the PBA Governors’ Cup crown. They will be making their conference debut against the Blackwater Bossing, who are also riding a wave of momentum after slaying a Goliath in their last contest.
Catch this game live on Sunday, June 12 at 6:30 pm, Manila time.
The Blackwater Bossing (1-0)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: JVee Casio
- SG: Rey Suerte
- SF: Joshua Torralba
- PF: Renato Ular
- C: Yousef Taha
2012 called, and it wants JVee Casio back. The former De La Salle Green Archers star turned back the hands of time and pumped out 22 points on 7/19 shooting, including 5/11 from deep, to lead Blackwater to a stunning 85-78 upset win over the TNT Tropang Giga last Thursday. By taking down a giant right on their very first game day in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup, the Bossing have just sent a strong message across the league. They actually now have won their last two games, as they closed out the last conference with (another) upset victory over the Magnolia Hotshots.
Blackwater also got solid contributions in the TNT game from rookie Renato Ular, who had 10 points and 5 rebounds in his PBA debut. There is a good mix of veterans and young guns from top to bottom of the Blackwater roster, and it appears that head coach Ariel Vanguardia is starting to unlock the potential of the Bossing. It’s also worth mentioning that the last time Blackwater met with the Barangay, Casio scored 27 points with 8 3-pointers in a 109-100 loss back in February.
The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (0-0)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: LA Tenorio
- SG: Stanley Pringle
- SG: Scottie Thompson
- PF: Christian Standhardinger
- C: Japeth Aguilar
Fresh off a championship win in the previous conference, Ginebra is clearly the favorite in their upcoming game against the Bossing. And it’s not just because they won a title in the last Governors’ Cup that the Barangay is considered among the heavy favorites to win it all this conference. There’s also the fact that Stanley Pringle is now healthy again after missing the entire Governors’ Cup due to injury. Pringle’s absence also gave way to an expanded role for Scottie Thompson, who took full advantage on his way to winning the 2021 PBA MVP award.
Together with LA Tenorio, Pringle and Thompson form a lethal backcourt trio that will be difficult to match for Blackwater, which just gave up 42 points to RR Pogoy and Jayson Castro last Thursday. Speaking of healthier players, Japeth Aguilar is another one who’s seemingly recovered from an injury, and that’s not a good news for Blackwater, which finished last in the Governors’ Cup with a 115.1 defensive rating. Ginebra has also not lost to Blackwater in nearly three years and is 16-3 since 2014 against the Bossing franchise.
PREDICTION:
Spread: The Barangay (-8.5) cover the spread.
Over/Under: Taking the Over (182).
