It’s a meeting between two bottoming teams who also happen to have high-scoring guards on their side. Both squads are fighting to stay alive, so who knows what their urgency can bring? We may see a duel.
Catch the game tomorrow at 5:00 PM.
San Miguel Beermen (3-7)
- Marvin Lee
- Jericho Cruz
- Jeepy Faundo
- Allyn Bulanadi
- Rodney Brondial
The tough tournament rolls on for the injury-plagued Beermen, who are basically without their entire main core. They will be coming off an ugly 94-65 rout in the hands of the Magnolia Hotshots this past Sunday, a complete opposite of the 111-74 beating they put on the TNT KaTropa in the prior contest.
Terrence Romeo (18.4 PPG) has missed last four games due to a hamstring injury, and his status still doesn’t look good for tomorrow. As such, Jericho Cruz will continue to have the reins. The veteran is enjoying the most productive stretch of his career as he is pacing SMB in scoring at 21.3 PPG, which currently ranks third in the tournament.
With the slew of absences, there’s a scarcity of help for Cruz. It’s primarily shared by Allyn Bulanadi, Rodney Brondial, Jeepy Faundo, and Marvin Lee, who had nice outings two games ago. However, it’s not encouraging as all are not exactly reliable offensive weapons. But who knows? They may fire back. Lee, in particular, had 22 points with five three-pointers in that aforementioned win over TNT.
Terrafirma Dyip (3-6)
- Juami Tiongson
- Gelo Alolino
- Ed Daquioag
- Isaac Go
- Aldrech Ramos
Terrafirma will head to the game having lost three-straight games. It’s a step back from the promising 3-3 start they had in the tournament. The most recent loss is a 104-100 defeat to the NorthPort Batang Pier, where they once again fell short after putting up a good fight.
As always, sweet-shooting, high-scoring Juami Tiongson will lead the squad. He is putting up a tournament-best 24.0 points per game thus far, alongside 4.0 assists, and 3.4 threes per game (41% shooting from beyond the arc). The former Ateneo De Manila standout has the greenest light to let it fly, and his confidence is simply through the roof.
The help is a tad better than what Cruz has. He has a handful of support in Eric Camson, Gelo Alolino, Ed Daquioag, Javi Gomez De Liano, and Isaac Go, all of which are averaging double-digit points in the tournament. De Liano, for one, is averaging 20.5 PPG on an efficient 65.3% shooting over his last two.
PREDICTION:
Handicap: San Miguel (-1.5) wins.
Total: The total goes under 200.
