The San Miguel Beermen will look for their third win of the season and second under returning head coach Leo Austria when they play the re-energized Blackwater Bossing this weekend. Blackwater gained some confidence after coming up with their first win of the conference, but they will be put to a test by the high-powered Beermen squad in what should be an intriguing battle in Malate.

Catch this game live on Sunday,  December 15 at 5:00 pm, Manila time.

San Miguel Beermen (2-2)

Projected Starting Five:

  • CJ Perez
  • Jaymar Perez
  • Torren Jones
  • Marcio Lassiter
  • June Mar Fajardo

Leo Austria is back as bench boss for the Beermen, and his return has already given San Miguel the spark it needed to end a skid. After back-to-back losses to the NLEX Road Warriors and Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, the Beermen defeated the lowly Terrafirma Dyip on Friday at Ninoy Aquino Stadium vi a score of 106-88. Beating Terrafirma doesn’t really prove much, but the win was still a nice boost for the Beermen, who also welcomed a new import in Torren Jones. 

The well-traveled reinforcement had 24 points with 13 boards against Terrafirma while “resident” import Junemar Fajardo pumped in 21 points and 19 boards while shooting 9-for-15 from the field. The Beerman are a better team than what their 2-2 record suggests, and with Austria’s comeback and a new import change pairing up nicely with the eight-time PBA MVP, it seems that things are looking up again for San Miguel. 

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Blackwater Bossing (1-3)

Projected Starting Five:

  • JV Casio
  • Sedrick Barefield
  • George King
  • Christian David
  • Clifford Jopia

Blackwater is finally in the win column. The Bossing bagged their first win of the conference with an emphatic 114-98 victory over the previously undefeated Meralco Bolts last Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. The 1-2 punch of Sedrick Barefield and George King was too much for the Bolts. 

Barefield dropped 33 points on 13-for-21 shooting and nine assists while King had 32 points to go with 14 boards against the import-less Bolts. Barefield and King will be relied upon a lot by Blackwater but how the Bossing defends San Miguel’s fearsome frontcourt could be the barometer for their success. That means the likes of Clifford Jopia, Justin Chua and Bradwyn Guinto can expect to have prominent roles on the defense end of the floor this Saturday. Christian David is also someone to watch out for, as the former Butler Bulldog is coming off a 17-point performance versus the Bolts.

Picks

Spread: Blackwater Bossing (+7.5)

Over/Under: Under (209.5)

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