The San Miguel Beermen will revert back to import Jordan Adams after replacing him for one game. The Phoenix Fuel Masters, meanwhile, is still searching for its win of the conference.
Catch the game this Thursday, September 13th, at 5:00 PM, Manila time.
San Miguel Beermen (4-2)
Projected starting five:
- Jericho Cruz
- CJ Perez
- Jordan Adams
- Marcio Lassiter
- Junemar Fajardo
The Beermen are winners of back-to-back games. They will be coming off a 119-114 win over the NLEX Road Warriors, where they shot 55.8% from the floor and had seven guys score in double figures.
Jordan Adams, who played the first five games for SMB, will be back on the sidelines. He was surprisingly replaced as import despite a good showing. He has dropped multiple 30-point games and shown an ability to facilitate his teammates. Look for him to continue doing that.
As always, the locals will be led by Junemar Fajardo, and followed by an army of solid veterans and young guns. JMF remains as a massive threat interior andinstant offense, while the rest–namely, Marcio Lassiter, CJ Perez, Terrence Romeo, Jericho Cruz, and Don Trollano–will look to be the no. 2 scorer. Lassiter could aim to continue his hot shooting as he shot 4-of-7 from three and had 17 points with five boards in the win vs. NLEX.
Nevertheless, their defense should look to step up as they have 114, 112, and 112 points across their last three outings.
Phoenix Fuel Masters (0-6)
Projected starting five:
- Tyler Tio
- Sean Manganti
- Ken Tuffin
- Jason Perkins
- Brandone Francis
The Fuel Masters put up a good fight vs. the rough Rain or Shine Elasto Painters last Tuesday, but eventually faltered down the stretch. They were outscored by 13 in the fourth quarter and lost, 122-107, to remain winless.
It was the Brandone Francis and Jason Perkins as per usual, with the former going for 31 points with four threes, and the latter adding a neat double-double of 22 points and 10 boards. The two had minimal help from the rest as only one other Fuel Master (Kai Ballungay, who had 11) reached double-digit scoring.
Such lack of help is what has killed the team the most. Francis and Perkins can somehow get ample production from one or two guys, they’d be miles better than a horrid 0-6 slate. In any case, the onus is on guys like Ballungay, Tyler Tio, RJ Jazul, RR Garcia, and Tyler Tio.
PICKS:
Spread: SMB (-11)
Over/Under: Over (219.5)
