Yeng Guiao and his NLEX Road Warriors will be shooting for a fourth win in a row when they take on Barangay Ginebra San Miguel this Friday. Meanwhile, the Barangay are aiming for a 3-0 stretch to help bolster its playoff chances.
Catch this game live on Friday, March 4 at 6 pm, Manila time.
The NLEX Road Warriors (7-3)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Kevin Alas
- SG: Philip Paniamogan
- SF: Kenneth Ighalo
- PF: KJ McDaniels
- C: Raul Soyud
With the Meralco Bolts’ loss to the Magnolia Hotshots Wednesday night, the Road Warriors suddenly found themselves in solo second in the 2022 PBA Governors’ Cup standings. Of course, NLEX has put in the work to get to that position. The Road Warriors have won all of their last three games, including a 109-100 win at the Ynares Arena in Antipolo on Feb. 25. The Road Warriors’ offense has simply been too much for most other teams to handle this conference. They are comfortably the No. 1 scoring team in the 2022 PBA Governors’ Cup, as they are putting up 108.6 points per game on 45.9 FG%.
The Road Warriors have failed to score 100 points in a game just once this season and don’t expect them to slow down against Ginebra. The Barangay’s defense has been a big letdown this season, as they are giving up 103.8 points per game – third-worst in the PBA this conference. Ginebra even had a hard time shaking off the lowly Terrafirma Dyip last Sunday. This is also going to be KJ McDaniels’ last game this conference for NLEX, as the import is set to return to the US because of family reasons, so expect him to go all out for the Road Warriors.
The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (5-4)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: LA Tenorio
- SG: Scottie Thompson
- SF: Arvin Tolentino
- PF: Justin Brownlee
- C: Japeth Aguilar
After losing four in a row, the Barangay have managed to right their ship with back-to-back wins over the Blackwater Bossings (109-100) and Teffafirma (112-107). Now comes a much tougher test for Ginebra in the form of NLEX, but at least the Barangay have some momentum going for them, albeit at the expense of the minnows in the league. Justin Brownloee scored 209 points and grabbed 15 boards in the win over Terrafirma, while Japeth Aguilar provided 19 points, seven rebounds, and a couple of blocks.
Christian Standhardinger powered Ginebra with 26 points off the bench. Despite Ginebra’s struggles, the team remains formidable largely because of its frontline. With Aguilar starting and Standhardinger coming off the bench, the Barangay are assured of at least one elite big man on the floor to run alongside Brownlee. Through nine games in the conference, Aguilar has averaged 13.8 points and 6.3 rebounds, while Standhardinger has put up 15.4 points and 6.8 rebounds. Also watch out for Scottie Thompson, who had a sparkling performance in the Terrafirma game, with a triple-double of 20 points, 11 assists, and 13 rebounds.
PREDICTION:
Spread: Ginebra is 6-2 straight up in its last eight meetings with the Road Warriors, but the Barangay’s recent play (strength of schedule considered) suggests that this game is for NLEX to lose. Taking the Road Warriors to cover (+2.5).
Over/Under: NLEX is going to score over 100 points in this game with Ginebra doing just enough to help the total hit the Over (204.0)
