The TNT Tropang Giga took the early 1-0 lead in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup with a thrilling victory over the San Miguel Beermen in Game 1. Will TNT zoom to a 2-0 lead on Wednesday? Or, will the Beermen hit back with a massive response?

Catch this game live on Wednesday,  August 24 at 5:45 pm, Manila time.

TNT Tropang Giga (1-0)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: Kib Montalbo
  • SG: Mike Williams
  • SF: RR Pogoy
  • PF: Kelly Williams
  • C: Troy Rosario

Whether you believe that Jayson Castro’s dagger in TNT’s 86-84 win over the Beermen was rightfully counted or not, the fact remains that the veteran point guard has been playing like his old self of late. The former two-time Asia’s best point guard scored 15 points in Game 1, which also means that he has now scored at least 15 points in five of his last six games. 

Then, of course, there was Mikey Williams who had a slow start in the series opener but finished with 21 points on 7/19 shooting. It was actually a three-guard attack for the Tropang Giga in that game, with RR Pogoy pacing all scorers with 26 points. TNT also beat the Beermen even though it shot just 5/20 from deep. That is an excellent sign for the Tropang Giga, who should be able to find recapture their touch from behind the arc sooner than later, considering how good they have been knocking down 3-pointers this conference.

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San Miguel Beermen (0-1)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: Chris Ross
  • SG: CJ Perez
  • SF: Marcio Lassiter
  • PF: Rodney Brondial
  • C: June Mar Fajardo

The Beermen let another big lead go to waste, and they will now have to learn their lessons again following their Game 1 debacle. Nevertheless, their 1-2 punch of Junemar Fajardo and CJ Perez looked good in the series opener. Fajardo muscled his way to double-double night of 26 points and 16 rebounds while shooting 11/12 from the floor, while Perez had 21 points. 

For some stretches, San Miguel missed plenty of chances to let Fajardo do more havoc offensively in Game 1. Given that no one can really put the clamps on him, the Beermen should find more looks for Fajardo, especially after taking just two free-throw attempts. (This conference, Fajardo is averaging 7.2 free-throw attempts per contest.) As pointed out before, the Beermen have not lost back t0 back so far in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup.

PREDICTION:

Spread: TNT (+4) covers.

Over/Under:  The Over (193.5) hits.

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