The San Miguel Beermen begin their road to redemption after getting upset in the Philippine Cup finals. Can the Phoenix Fuel Masters extend SMB’s frustration?

Catch the game this Wednesday, August 21st, at 7:30 PM.

San Miguel Beermen (0-0)

Starting five:

• CJ Perez
• Jericho Cruz
• Jordan Adams
• Marcio Lassiter
• June Mar Fajardo

The Beermen lost in the 2023-24 Philippine Cup finals despite yet another dominating, 10-1 run in the conference’s regular season, where they had the best record and arguably the most all-around squad. Best believe they’ll be out for revenge in the Governor’s Cup.

While 8-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo is sure to get his fair share of points and rebounds, we ought to expect guard CJ Perez to be right there with the decorated big man. Perez is coming off his best conference yet as he netted a 21.7 points, 4.0 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, all of which are team-highs. The two are also supported by a number of reliable contributors, a standard in Beermen teams, namely, Marcio Lassiter, CJ Trollano, Jericho Cruz, and Terrence Romeo, who are all on the heels of averaging double-digit points.

SMB has tapped former UCLA Bruins star and Memphis Grizzlies guard Jordan Adams as their import. He’s a scoring wing that may lit up the scoreboard every game. Look out.

Phoenix Fuel Masters (0-0)

Starting five:

• Javee Mocon
• Sean Manganti
• Ken Tuffin
• Jason Perkins
• Jayveous McKinnis

The Fuel Masters finished with a terrible, 3-8 slate in the Philippine Cup. They had no rhythm all throughout and had a couple of injuries, and it brought them down to one of their most disappointing outings in years. We’ll now see how well they have reflected from such a dud.

As always, the locals will be headlined by Jason Perkins. He notched 17.6 points, 7.9 boards, and 3.1 assists on 52% shooting in the previous conference. We should keep seeing him toss his weight around for some ground-and-pound scoring, and what’s also good is he does have some outside touch in him as he recently shot 36% on 3.3 attempts. Ken Tuffin (12.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG) is there as an added punch, and he too can stroke it from downtown, going 37% from beyond the arc in the All-Filipino battle. Look for guys like Javee Mocon, Ricci Rivero, and veteran RJ Jazul to contribute nicely as well.

Import Jayveous McKinnis, meanwhile, who played for the University of Mississippi and Jackson State University in the US NCAA, is expected to be a force downlow. He’s a hardworking, 6’7 forward who posted back-to-back double-double seasons while at JSU.

PICKS:

Spread: San Miguel (-4)

Over/Under: Over (205.5)