The Converge FiberXers refused to go away, as they forced a fourth game in their series versus the San Miguel Beermen. Will Converge pull off another big win to necessitate a winner-take-all Game 5? Or, will the Beermen get rid of the pesky FiberXers and advance to the semifinal round?

Catch this game live on Friday,  October 4 at 7:30 pm, Manila time.

Converge FiberXers (1-2)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Alec Stockton
  • Mike Nieto
  • Jalen Jones
  • Bryan Santos
  • Justin Arana

Whatever happens this Friday, at least Converge made sure it wouldn’t get swept in the series against the Beermen after the FiberXers took Game 3, 114-112. Alec Stockton kept Converge alive in the playoffs with a game-winning jumper in that contest, finishing with 20 points with two 3-pointers. Converge used a balanced attack to thwart the high-powered Beermen. FiberXers import Jalen Jones scored just 17 points on a salty 8/24 shooting from the field but Stockton and the other locals stepped up, with five of them scoring at least 10 points.

Among them was Bryan Santos, who fired 15 points and finished with a plus-16. Such performance from the supporting cast will have to be there for Converge again this Friday to counter San Miguel. Hopefully for the FiberXers, positive regression helps Jones and gets his efficiency up in another do-or-die scenario for Converge.

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San Miguel Beermen (2-1)

Projected Starting Five:

  • CJ Perez
  • Jaymar Perez
  • EJ Anosike 
  • Marcio Lassiter
  • June Mar Fajardo

The Beermen are fine. Converge needed some sort of a miracle to avoid a sweep, and it’s going to be tough to beat San Miguel two games in a row, especially with a lot on the line. However, it was still not ideal for the Beermen to waste the 39-point effort of import EJ Anosike, who also had nine rebounds and five assists in Game 3. It is also worth noting that the Beermen just played an EASL game versus the Suwon KT on Wednesday, so there could be an increased fatigue factor for San Miguel in Game 4 against the FiberXers. 

Still, Junemar Fajardo remains a big problem for Converge. The eight-time PBA MVP only had 12 points but grabbed 16 boards in Game 3, while Jaymar Perez led SMB locals with 18 points to go with 10 boards. The Beermen’s bench got outscored in the loss to Converge, 45-23, so there’s a challenge for the likes of Jericho Cruz, Don Trollano, and Kris Rosales to bounce back after the three combined for just 11 points on 4/16 shooting.

Picks

Spread: San Miguel (-8.0)

Over/Under: Over (211.5)

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