The Blackwater Elite are about to get their toughest test to date in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup, as they will be facing the league-leading San Miguel Beermen in a can’t-miss battle this Sunday. Read on for more about these two teams plus our predictions for the game.

Catch this game live on Sunday,  July 10 at 4:30 pm, Manila time.

The San Miguel Beermen (7-1)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: Simon Enciso
  • SG: CJ Perez
  • SF: Marcio Lassiter
  • PF: Rodney Brondial
  • C: June Mar Fajardo

Despite still being shorthanded, the Beermen got away with a 115-99 win over top title contenders TNT Tropang Giga last Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. June Mar Fajardo showed that he can still erupt on offense with 30 points to go with 16 rebounds. He was the Shaq to Jericho Cruz’s Kobe in that game, with Cruz pouring in 30 points on 12/20 shooting. The depth of San Miguel has been a huge advantage for the Beermen, who are calmly and effectively weathering the absences of Vic Manuel, Chriss Ross, and Terrence Rome due to injuries. 

Apart from having Fajardo and CJ Perez around to lead the team, the Beermen also have the likes of Cruz, Robbie Herndon, Simon Encisco, and Rodney Brondial taking their turns in providing major contributions. Brondial, for one, went bonkers in the TNT game with 18 boards along with 12 points. The offensive firepower and dominant rebounding of San Miguel could be too much even for the surprising Bossing squad.

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The Blackwater Bossing (5-1)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: JVee Casio
  • SG: Rashawn McCarthy
  • SG: Rey Suerte
  • PF: Renato Ular
  • C: Yousif Taha

Don’t sleep on Blackwater. It’s becoming a popular refrain in the PBA this conference, as the Bossing continue their rapid ascent to the higher tiers in the league’s power rankings with one incredible performance after another. In their last outing, the Bossing scored a come-from-behind 91-89 victory over the Phoenix LPG Fuel Masters at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, with Baser Amer draining the game-winning shot. But the real star of the game for Blackwater was no other than rookie sensation Renato Ular, who went supernova for 34 points to go with 10 rebounds while shooting 12/16 from the field and 3/6 from deep. 

The guy has simply been an efficient wrecking machine this conference. He is averaging 17.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, and don’t look now but another youngster is also starting to make a huge difference for the Bossing, with Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser turning up with 16 points off the bench against Phoenix after scoring just 8 points in his PBA debut in the previous Bossing outing. As a team, Blackwater has been hard to contain for opposing squads because it moves the ball so well. The Bossing entered the Phoenix game tops in the league with a 70.3 AST%.

PREDICTION:

Spread: The Beermen (-8.5) cover.

Over/Under: The Under (185.5) hits.