By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter
THE San Miguel Beermen seek to barge into the top 3 of the ongoing PBA Philippine Cup when they take on defending champions Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings on Friday.
San Miguel, currently at fourth place with a 4-2 record, battles Barangay Ginebra (3-3) in a match set for 6 p.m. at the Don Honorio Ventura State University (DHVSU) Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
The Beermen trail the TnT Tropang Giga (6-1), Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok (6-2) and Meralco Bolts (5-2) in the standings and are out to solidify their place in the top half of the race of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) All-Filipino tournament.
Competition format has the top two teams at the end of the eliminations having a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals over the number seven and eight teams. Teams three and six and four and five, meanwhile, battle in a pair of best-of-three series.
San Miguel is coming off a huge victory over TnT, 83-67, on Wednesday.
The Beermen exploded in the opening quarter and never relinquished control from there en route to the win.
Marcio Lassiter led the way for San Miguel, finishing with 19 points, going 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. Terrence Romeo had 16 points while Mo Tautuaa and CJ Perez came off the bench to score 13 points apiece.
Six-time PBA most valuable player June Mar Fajardo, meanwhile, continued to struggle offensively as he makes his way back from a long layoff because of injury, finishing with eight points, but had 17 rebounds.
“The players are motivated. They had a lot of energy, knowing this was a huge game and we wanted to bounce back,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria, whose wards were coming off a loss in their previous game against Terrafirma Dyip.
“Going into the game, we were worried because we did not play for one week. Good thing we kept on practicing to sustain our game,” he added.
Looking to halt the Beermen in their push is Barangay Ginebra, which is also coming off a victory in its last game.
The Kings beat the Rain or Shine Elastopainters, 83-77, banking for the most part on their defense.
It is a win they are looking to build on as they look to get out of their early struggles in the tournament.
“We let our defense do the talking… And I think we won the hustle charts,” said Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone after their victory.
The Kings are being led by Stanley Pringle, who is averaging 15.67 points, to go along with 5.17 rebounds and three assists a game. LA Tenorio has been good for 15 points per contest while big men Japeth Aguilar and Christian Standhardinger are scoring 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Also playing on Friday are Magnolia and Rain or Shine (4-4) at 12:30 p.m. and TnT and the NLEX Road Warriors (4-3).