The San Miguel Beermen grabbed the series lead for the first time in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup Finals with a 108-100 win in Game 3 Friday. Will the Beermen win three in a row to push the TNT Tropang Giga to the edge? Or, will the Tropang Giga strike back and tie the series all up?

Catch this game live on Sunday,  August 28 at 6:03 pm, Manila time.

TNT Tropang Giga (1-2)

Projected Starting Five:

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

The Tropang Giga simply couldn’t stop June Mar Fajardo in Game 3. Then again, who really can contain him? Despite Fajardo’s monster game and the loss, TNT can take heart front the fact that it took the Beermen a near 30-30 performance from Fajardo and an overtime to take care of business.

For one, RR Pogoy is still scoring. He had 25 points to pace all TNT scorers in Game 3 and is now averaging 26.3 points per game. Mikey Williams is considered the main problem for San Miguel, but Pogoy has somehow found a way to sneak in a barrage of points three games in a row. It’s worth noting, though, that Pogoy shot a dismal 6 of 21 from the field in Game 3, and will need to be more efficient. The Tropang Giga shot 39% overall from the field.

TNT has repeatedly shown its ability to hang with San Miguel, so expect them to do that again in Game 4.

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San Miguel Beermen (2-1)

Projected Starting Five:

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

As mentioned earlier, Fajardo did nothing but humiliate TNT’s defense in Game 3. The six-time PBA MVP ripped the Tropang Giga apart and put up importish-esque numbers of 27 points and 27 rebounds. He is shooting above 50 FG% through three games of the series, and it would be hard to look someone in the eye and say that you guarantee a bad game up ahead for Fajardo.

At the same time, the Beermen’s supporting cast has also stepped up, with Marcio Lassiter, Jericho Cruz, and Vic Manuel still producing. Even Robbie Herndon came alive in Game 3, with eight points in eight minutes. That’s a great confidence builder for yet another perimeter SMB weapon the Tropang Giga certainly doesn’t want waking up.

PREDICTION:

Spread: TNT (-2) covers.

Over/Under: The Under (193.0) hits.