The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel drew first blood in their semifinals series against sister team San Miguel Beermen last Friday, 121-112. Will the Barangay go up 2-0 after Sunday’s meeting? Or, will the Beermen tie it all up?

Catch this game live on Sunday,  March 26 at 6:45 pm, Manila time.

San Miguel Beermen (9-2)

  • PG: Simon Enciso
  • SG: CJ Perez
  • SF: Marcio Lassiter
  • PF: Vic Manuel
  • C: Cameron Clark

San Miguel had a rough go in Game 1 of this semifinals series, which was not really all that surprising. After all, the Beermen did not have June Mar Fajardo in that game and won’t have the all-time great in the coming games either due to injury. Cameron Clark and CJ Perez led the Beermen in the series opener with 26 and 23 points, respectively, while Marcio Lassiter dropped 30 points. 

Another positive takeaway for the Beermen from that game was their bench outsourcing Ginebra’s relievers, 30-10. With Fajardo out, San Miguel’s backups have a crucial role to play in this series, especially Mo Tautuaa, who had 11 points and 10 rebounds coming off the bench in Game 1. 

San Miguel also did not get dominated on the glass in that game despite missing Fajardo, losing the rebounding battle by just the slimmest of margins, 47-46. The Beermen’s defense just has to make it tougher for Ginebra to convert shots, perhaps through scheme adjustments or by simply playing the passing lanes more aggressively against the ball-movement-heavy attack of Ginebra.

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (8-3)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: Scottie Thompson
  • SG: Jeremiah Gray
  • SF: Jamie Malonzo
  • PF: Justin Brownlee
  • C: Christian Standhardinger

Life is good for the Barangay, who have won seven of their last eight games, dating back to February. Despite not having Japeth Aguilar for a ton of games due to injury, Ginebra has continued to flourish, thanks in large part to the play of Christian Standhardinger. 

The 6-8 Standhardinger has stepped up big time for the Barangay, and he did that again in Game 1 with a monster performance, putting up import-like numbers of 33 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. 

Without Fajardo to contend with inside, Standardinger and the Barangay are finding it easier to execute their plans on offense and defense. In Game 1, they shot 51 percent from the field, while also making 14 shots from deep on 32 attempts. Ginebra also made 46 baskets on 29 assists. As mentioned earlier, Ginebra is a team that knows how to swing the ball to find the best shot. In fact, the Barangay are No. 1 in the PBA with a 70.5 AST% this conference.

PREDICTION:

Spread: San Miguel (-2) covers the spread.

Over/Under: The total (214.5)  hits the Under.