San Miguel Beermen and the Phoenix Fuel Masters suffered losses in their respective conference openers, but a chance to get in the win column comes for both teams this weekend, when they square off in the second game of a twinbill high up in Antipolo.

Catch this game live on Sunday,  October 11, 2025 at 7:30 pm, Manila time.

San Miguel Beermen (0-1)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Juami Tiongson
  • CJ Perez
  • Don Trollano
  • Rodney Brondial
  • June Mar Fajardo

The Beermen took a stumble in their first game in the conference, with San Miguel absorbing an 85-84 loss to the NLEX Road Warriors last Wednesday at Ynares Center in Antipolo. Considering that NLEX did not have the services of Robert Bolick in that contest, the Beermen surely failed to capitalize on that. 

Their loss also wasted the double-double effort of nine-time  MVP June Mar Fajardo, who pumped out 18 rebounds and grabbed 15 rebounds. Where the Beermen got hurt the most was in transition. The Road Warriors took off for 19 fastbreak points to just two by San Miguel. Moreover, NLEX converted 16 San Miguel turnovers into 26 points – 22 more than what the Beermen had off the Road Warriors’ 13 turnovers.

The good news for the Beermen is that those issues can still be addressed, as they look forward to getting back up on their feet this Sunday.

Phoenix Fuel Masters (0-1)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Tyler Tio
  • Kenneth Tuffin
  • Jason Perkins
  • Kai Ballungay
  • Yousef Taha

It was a forgettable start to the conference for the Fuel Masters, who got crushed in a 93-78 loss to the TNT Tropang 5G on Friday at the Ynares Center in Montalban. The Fuel Masters tried to keep up with TNT’s outside shooting and failed horribly at it, with Phoenix making only six of 23 attempts from 3-point distance. The Tropang 5G went 15-for-35 from behind the arc, which also says a lot about Phoenix’s defense. 

The Fuel Masters will have their hands full again defensively this Sunday, with Fajardo leading San Miguel’s attack. Phoenix has some size and heft to throw at Fajardo, with Jason Perkins and Kai Ballungay plus Yousef Taha, but if there’s one thing the Fuel Masters can learn from the Road Warriors’ upset of San Miguel, it’s that relentlessly pushing the ball is a great counter to Fajardo-anchored lineups. That said, Phoenix only had five fastbreak points against the Tropang 5G

Picks

Spread: San Miguel (-10.5)

Over/Under: Under (193.0)