The TNT Tropang Giga are almost unscathed in the entire elimination phase of the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup, as they only lost one game during that round. That was at the hands of the same team they’ll be facing in the semifinals in the form of the San Miguel Beermen. This series should be fun from beginning to end.
Catch this game live on October 3 at 4:35 pm, Manila time.
The San Miguel Beermen (7-4)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Chris Ross
- SG: Terrence Romeo
- SF: Marcio Lassiter
- PF: Arwind Santos
- C: Junemar Fajardo
The Beermen barge into the semifinals by sweeping the NorthPort Batang Pier in their best-of-three quarterfinals series. San Miguel won Game 1 of that series, 88-87, and Game 2 in a more decisive manner to the tune of a 100-95 score. The Beermen have also gotten Terrence Romeo back from injury, and the spitfire guard had 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting off the bench in the series-clinching win over NorthPort.
Romeo’s presence gives San Miguel someone who can keep up with Mikey Williams, who’s been embarrassing opposing defenses for the most part of the conference. Williams, however, fired blanks in TNT’s 83-67 loss to San Miguel on Sep. 8. He was held by San Miguel in that game to only seven points on 3-of-13 shooting, while Romeo had 16 points on 8-of-17 shooting. Also watch out for San Miguel’s incredibly deep bench that features CJ Perez, Mo Tautuaa, and Alex Cabagnot.
The TNT Tropang Giga (10-1)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Brian Heruela
- SG: RR Pogoy
- SF: Mikey Williams
- PF: Troy Rosario
- C: Kelly Williams
Although they lost to San Miguel in the elimination round, the Tropang Giga, all things considered, are the favorite to win their semifinals series against the Beermen and the championship. That loss to San Miguel can be seen as a mere aberration in the otherwise sublime season so far of the Tropang Giga, who sank 33 field goals on 19 assists in their 84-71 win over the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel during the quarterfinals.
RR Pogoy and Troy Rosario led TNT in that game with 16 and 15 points, respectively, while Mike Williams added 11 points. Williams went just 1-of-8 from deep against the Barangay, but he will still have the focus of San Miguel’s defense this Sunday. If anything, San Miguel isn’t really having success this season because of its defense. The Beermen are even fourth-worst in the league with 91.45 points allowed per game. With Williams, Pogoy, and Jayson Castro, the Tropang Giga have the firepower from the perimeter to take advantage of that leaky Beermen defense.
PREDICTION:
Spread: NorthPort gave the Beermen a run for their money, with their offense. TNT is very much capable of capitalizing on San Miguel’s defense, but also has the defense to slow them down. Take TNT to cover (+1.5).
Over/Under: This will be an up-and-down game. Take the Over (180.5).
