Two giants are set to collide this Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, as the league-leading San Miguel Beermen take on the ever-dangerous TNT Tropang Giga. Read on for more about this titanic PBA showdown.
Catch this game live on Thursday, July 7 at 7:15 pm, Manila time.
The TNT Tropang Giga (7-2)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Brian Heruela
- SG: Mike Williams
- SF: Glenn Khobuntin
- PF: Kelly Williams
- C: Troy Rosario
The Tropang Giga are on cruise control, with Mikey Williams leading the TNT crew. They defeated the Terrafirma Dyip on July 1, 114-86, to record their seventh win of the conference and fourth in a row. During their current win streak, the Tropang Giga have won by an average of 13 points, obviously skewed by their decimation of Terrafirma. In any case, Williams has been playing on another level, just as he’s always been whenever he’s active and healthy.
In four appearances so far in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup conference, Williams has managed to put together an average of 25.0 points, while shooting 46.1 FG% and 41.7 3FG%. With the Beermen still missing their defensive ace in the backcourt, Chris Ross, Williams could be cooking yet another gem this Thursday. Look for Williams and the Tropang Giga to get ample points from the free-throw line in this game, as they are third in the league in free-throw attempts.
The San Miguel Beermen (6-1)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Simon Enciso
- SG: CJ Perez
- SF: Marcio Lassiter
- PF: Rodney Brondial
- C: June Mar Fajardo
San Miguel’s dominance this conference has intoxicated the rest of the league. The Beermen have lost just once so far, and that was a narrow 3-point defeat at the hands of the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel on June 24. Since then, the Beermen have gone 3-0, with wins over the Converge FiberXers, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, and the NorthPort Batang Pier. This team is humming not just offensively but defensively, as well.
In fact, San Miguel is leading the league with a 107.5 offensive rating and ranks fifth with a 98.3 defensive rating. The combo of CJ Perez and Junemar Fajardo is taking over for the banged-up Beermen, who beat NorthPort despite missing Vic Manuel, Terrence Romeo, and Mo Tautuaa, but they are also getting ample help from the backups. Robbie Herndon, Jericho Cruz, and Paul Christian Zamar have all stepped up, each scoring at least 12 points in the win over NorthPort.
PREDICTION:
Spread: San Miguel covers (-1.5).
Over/Under: The total (186.5) hits the Over.
