Manila Clasico is upon us, and the greatest PBA rivalry today is adding another chapter with a matchup this Sunday between the Magnolia Hotshots and the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. Who are you pulling for to take the W?
Catch this game live on Sunday, June 18 at 6:30 pm, Manila time.
The Magnolia Hotshots (1-3)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Jio Jalalon
- SG: Adrian Wong
- SF: Rome dela Rosa
- PF: Calvin Abueva
- C: Ian Sangalang
Things are not looking good for the Hotshots early in the conference., While there’s no need to press the panic button just yet, Magnolia can’t afford to keep its losing trend to keep going. In their last outing, the Hotshots absorbed an 87-81 defeat at the hands of the San Miguel Beermen on Friday. A major reason for the early struggles of the Magnolia is Paul Lee’s seemingly banged-up body. Lee has already missed two games due to upper and lower-body injuries.
His status for this Sunday’s Manila Clasico showdown is up in the air, as of this writing. With the potential of Lee missing yet another contest, the Hotshots will have to count on Abueva’s promise that he’s going to bounce back big time versus Barangay. Magnolia’s bench could be the difference in favor of the Hotshots this Sunday, as it is averaging more points than Ginebra’s relievers by a significant margin– 31.75 PPG to 16 PPG. The Hotshots are also 3-0 straight up in their last three meetings with Ginebra.
The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (2-0)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: LA Tenorio
- SG: Stanley Pringle
- SG: Scottie Thompson
- PF: Christian Standhardinger
- C: Japeth Aguilar
Ginebra is still flawless through two games in the 2023 PBA Philippine Cup. The Barangay took care of business in their conference opener with an 85-82 win over the Blackwater Bossing before edging the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. Japeth Aguilar, who had trouble staying on the floor last conference, is seemingly healthy, and it shows in his performance, thus far. Aguilar is leading the Barangay with 19.0 points per game to go with 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks. Right behind him is Christian Standhardinger, who is putting up 17.0 points per game with 10.5 boards per contest.
Then there’s Scottie Thompson, pound-for-pound the best rebounder in the PBA today. The reigning league MVP is averaging a double-double of 15.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in the conference, and he’s getting tremendous colllective support from not only Aguilar and C-Stand but also from the likes of Arvin Tolentino, Stanley Pringle, LA Tenorio, and Aljon Mariano. It’s a great time for a roaring Barangay team to pounce on a Magnolia team that’s struggling to find its footing.
PREDICTION:
Spread: Magnolia covers (+4).
Over/Under: Taking the Under (171.5).
