The Magnolia Hotshots and the San Miguel Beermen are right beside each other in the standings. Will the Hotshots pull further away from San Miguel with a victory? Or, will the Beermen catch up on Magnolia?
Catch this game live on September 19 at 4:35 pm, Manila time.
The Magnolia Hotshots (7-3)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Jio Jalalon
- SG: Paul Lee
- SF: Rome dela Rosa
- PF: Calvin Abueva
- C: Ian Sangalang
The Magnolia Hotshots secured a seat in the quarterfinals of the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup after beating the NorthPort Batang Pier on Friday, 90-89.
Calvin Abueva buried the game-winner basket for the Hotshots, who are now 2-2 over their last four games. Prior to their escape act against NorthPort, the Hotshots absorbed a 75-72 loss to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. Magnolia is struggling to find consistency, but what’s undeniable is that this squad is stacked. It’s got the talent to beat any team in the league, with the core trio of Abueva, Paul Lee, and Ian Sangalang leading the way.
Abueva leads Magnolia this conference with 17.1 points per game, while Ian Sangalang and Paul Lee are right behind The Beast with 16.1 and 16.8 points per game, respectively. As a team, Magnolia is putting up 89.6 points per game, good for fourth overall. Magnolia had the Batang Pier committing a total of 24 turnovers. That kind of defense and San Miguel’s propensity for turnovers are among the main factors why Magnolia could trip up the Beermen this Sunday.
The San Miguel Beermen (6-3)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Chris Ross
- SG: Marcio Lassiter
- SF: CJ Perez
- PF: Arwind Santos
- C: June Mar Fajardo
Like the Hotshots, San Miguel also booked a sure spot in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup playoffs following the Beermen’s 110-80 walk-in-a-park win over the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters on Friday.
CJ Perez led the way for San Miguel, scoring 24 points to go with five rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes off the bench. The Beermen are going to need Perez to sustain that energy on the floor, especially since it appears that they will be without Terrence Romeo for a while. The high-scoring Rome, the league’s leading scorer this conference, did not play in the entire second half of the Phoenix game due to a foot issue.
If Romeo can’t go, Perez, Junemar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, and Arwind Santos will have a heavier burden on offense. Without Romeo, San Miguel could get back to making Fajardo its focal point offensively. Fajardo, Santos, and Tautuaa gathered a total of 53 points and 24 rebounds agianst Phoenix. San Miguel will enter Sunday’s game as the only team averaging over 90 points per game (96.9) in the conference.
PREDICTION:
Spread: Don’t worry about the Beermen potentially not having Romeo for this game. Last time we checked, a six-time MVP is still with the team. Take the Beermen to cover (-2.5).
Over/Under: With or without Romeo, the Beermen are going to keep on scoring. And with their trouble with taking care of the leather, expect lots of extra points for the Hotshots as well. Take the Over (178.5).
