The Meralco Bolts and the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel are both inside the playoff picture, but neither team has secured a guaranteed postseason spot yet. Strengthening their playoff bid will be each team’s mission when they collide in an intriguing showdown at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Catch this game live on Friday, May 30. 2025 at 7:30 pm, Manila time.
Meralco Bolts (5-5)
Projected Starting Five:
- Chris Newsome
- Chris Banchero
- Bong Quinto
- Cliff Hodge
- Brandon Bates
The Bolts will look to end their elimination campaign on a positive note. Coming off back-to-back wins over the Blackwater Bossing (108-92) and NLEX Road Warriors (108-92), Meralco will come into this date with the Barangay riding a wave of momentum. The Bolts will be led by Chris Newsome, who’s been in dangerous form of late.
He had 19 points against Blackwater and 21 more versus NLEX on his way to becoming the second Meralco player this conference to win Player of the Week honors. Bong Quinto won the same award last April. Speaking of Quinto, he is also fresh off a strong outing, collecting 18 points in the NLEX game. Another emerging weapon for Meralco is CJ Cansino, who’s scored 34 points in the last two outings. He is becoming a reliable asset that can help keep Meralco’s offense running even when Newsome is on the bench.
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (5-2)
Projected Starting Five:
- Scottie Thompson
- RJ Abarrientos
- Stephen Holt
- Troy Rosario
- Japeth Aguilar
Ginebra is on a hotter streak than the Bolts, with the Barangay winning all of their last three outings. However, they were not exactly all that impressive in their last game, as they barely got by the Blackwater Bossing in a 101-99 victory. Japeth Aguilar saved the day for Ginebra with a game-winning jumper, but beating a perennial bottom-dweller on an emergency bucket is less encouraging than exciting.
Still, Aguilar scoring 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting and Troy Rosario dropping 18 points on 8-for-12 conversion from the floor in the Blackwater game are a strong message from Ginebra to the Bolts, whose frontcourt will have its hands full against the two veteran bigs this Friday. The Barangay are definitely among the top teams in this conference, with only two losses through seven games. Ginebra’s ball movement and outside shooting are the best in the league right now, as the Barangay are leading all teams in both assists per game (27.6) and 3-point shooting accuracy (38%).
Picks
Spread: Ginebra (-6.0)
Over/Under: Over (192.0)
