The TNT Tropang Giga reclaimed the series lead over the San Miguel Beermen with a 115-98 win in Game 3. A win this Sunday by TNT will dig the Beermen a deeper hold and move the Tropang Giga a win away from barging into the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup finals.
Catch this game live on October 10 at 2 pm, Manila time.
The San Miguel Beermen (1-2)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Chris Ross
- SG: Terrence Romeo
- SF: Marcio Lassiter
- PF: Arwind Santos
- C: Junemar Fajardo
San Miguel got another good offensive performance from Terrence Romeo in Game 3, as he finished with 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field, but Marcio Lassiter and Arwin Santos combined for only 12 points on 3-of-9 shooting combined.
Junemar Fajardo also regressed. After a 22-point performance in Game 2, the six-time PBA MVP only had 14 points. He only had eight shots from the field though, so perhaps the Beermen need to get their star big man more touches. While shot distribution is understandably tricky for a loaded roster like that of San Miguel’s, Fajardo is clearly the most unstoppable offensive force on the floor on either side in this semis series, so the Beermen need to get him the ball more at the post and let the offense flow from there.
San Miguel will look to have a better start in Game 3 than in Game 2 wherein the Beermen got torpedoed with an 11-0 run right out of the gate by the Tropang Giga.
The TNT Tropang Giga (2-1)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Brian Heruela
- SG: RR Pogoy
- SF: Mikey Williams
- PF: Troy Rosario
- C: JP Erram
With Kelly Williams out due to safety and health protocols, TNT is generally handling business just fine inside with JP Erram stepping up big time. Erram scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Game 2 and then followed that performance up with another double-double — a bigger one, in fact, by posting 21 points and 14 rebounds in Game 3. He also finished the game with just four fouls after fouling out in Game 2. Williams is unlikely to play this Sunday, so Erram will continue seeing significant playing time.
Meanwhile, Mikey Williams sort of found his rhythm finally in Game 3, as he scored 20 points, albeit on an efficient 7-of-22 shooting from the field. Still, he’s trending up, and that could mean trouble for San Miguel, whose leaky defense can get exposed again by TNT. The Tropang Giga will have to sustain their aggressiveness on offense, as evidenced by their 26-of-32 shooting from the foul line in Game 3, which was a marked improvement compared to their 17-of-29 shooting from the charity stripe in the first two games of the series.
PREDICTION:
Spread: The real Tropang Giga seem to have finally woken up, the one who can get things done on both ends of the floor. Take TNT to win and cover (-1) in Game 4.
Over/Under: San Miguel is all about scoring and TNT clearly has what it takes to keep up with them on offense. Take the Over (185).
