A heavyweight battle is due up this Friday, as the San Miguel Beermen take on the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. Will San Miguel continue its undefeated streak, or will Ginebra give the Beermen their first loss in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup?

Catch this game live on Friday,  June 24 at 6 pm, Manila time.

The San Miguel Beermen (3-0)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: Chris Ross (questionable)
  • SG: CJ Perez
  • SF: Marcio Lassiter
  • PF: Rodney Brondial
  • C: June Mar Fajardo

The Beermen downed their third win in a row to start the season, defeating the struggling Magnolia Hotshots on Jun. 17. With an entire week of rest, San Miguel will look to capitalize on having a fresher set of legs this Friday than Ginebra which will come into this game with just a day of full rest. That long break is a big plus for San Miguel that saw Chris Ross and Vic Manuel leave the Magnolia game prematurely because of injuries. Both could be deemed questionable to play this Friday, though, that’s where the Beermen’s depth comes to play. 

San Miguel has one of the deepest bullpens in the PBA, one that is averaging 33.3 points per contest. Mo Tautuaa starred for San Miguel in the win over the Hotshots, as he dropped 19 points with 5 rebounds coming off the bench. Backups like Jericho Cruz, Simon Encisco, and Von Pessumal are also ready to step up whenever the Beermen need them to provide support behind six-time PBA MVP Junemar Fajardo and CJ Perez, who led the starters against the Hotshots with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Advertisement

The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (3-1)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: LA Tenorio
  • SG: Stanley Pringle
  • SG: Scottie Thompson
  • PF: Christian Standhardinger
  • C: Japeth Aguilar

True to their Never Say Die mantra, the Barangay climbed all the way from a 19-point hole to an 83-75 victory last Wednesday over the NLEX Road Warriors. On the verge of losing back-to-back games, Ginebra found another gear in the second half to recover completely from its 89-84 loss to the Magnolia Hotshots in last Sunday’s Manila Clasico at MOA Arena. Japeth Aguilar came through for his team with 20 points to lead all scorers, while Arvin Tolentino racked up 17 points, with a 4/9 line from behind the arc. 

Tolentino has become a legitimate scoring threat for the Barangay, as he continues to realize his potential. He has scored in double figures in each game this conference and he’ll enter Friday’s game with an average of 12.5 points and a 43.8 3FG%. His size and ability to stretch the floor are key reasons why Ginebra, which is 2-1 in games this season at MOA Arena, is third in this conference so far with a 65.4 AST%

PREDICTION:

Spread: Ginebra covers (+3.5).

Over/Under: The Over hits (180.5).