After two games in the series, the Meralco Bolts and the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel are tied at 1-1. Will the Bolts get their first lead in the series with another win this Wednesday? Or, will the Barangay break away again with a strong bounce-back performance in Game 3?
Catch this game live on Wednesday, May 22 at 7:30 pm, Manila time.
Meralco Bolts (1-1)
Projected Starting Five:
- Christopher Banchero
- Allein Maliksi
- Chris Newsome
- Clifford Hodge
- Raymond Almazan
The Bolts hit back at Ginebra after their Game 1 loss, as Meralco scored a 103-91 win in Game 2 of the series last Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena. Key to Meralco’s success in that game was the performance of the tandem of Allein Maliksi and Chris Newsome, who had 25 and 20 points, respectively.
The Bolts also continue to outrebound Ginebra in the series. In Game 2, Meralco finished with a +11 rebounding advantage, thanks in large part to Cliff Hodge, who came away with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds. As long as the Bolts are winning the possession battle, they are going to be tough to shrug off for Ginebra, which has been outshot through two games by Meralco by a staggering margin of 25 shots.
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (1-1)
Projected Starting Five:
- Scottie Thompson
- Maverick Ahanmisi
- Louis Cu
- Japeth Aguilar
- Christian Standhardinger
After a letdown performance in Game 1, Ginebra big man Christian Standhardinger went off for 41 points in Game 2, albeit in a loss. Standhardinger blew up for 41 points and 11 rebounds with four assists in Game 2. However, the Barangay failed to get much from the other guys.
Maverick Ahanmisi went just 4/18 from the field for 1 point, while Game 1 hero Stanley Pringle got just 13 points on 5/8 shooting from the floor. While the return of Standhardinger’s dominance on offense was a welcome sight for the Barangay, especially since he went 15/23 from the foul line, Ginebra getting outhustled on both ends of the floor by Meralco was not. Scottie Thompson also needs to find his form after scoring just 11 points on 5/19 shooting in the first two games of the series.
Picks
Spread: Meralco Bolts (+2.5)
Over/Under: Over (178.0)\
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