‘He had several attempts that he usually made but against NorthPort, those shots didn’t fall in.’
daily TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO June Mar Fajardo will be the center of attention as the depleted San Miguel Beer battles NLEX in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Games Wednesday:
(Ynares Center)
4 p.m. — Terrafirma vs Blackwater
8 p.m. — San Miguel vs NLEX
San Miguel Beer will be walking wounded when it opens its campaign against NLEX in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner's Cup today at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
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Action is set at 8 p.m. with the Beermen missing the services of Marcio Lassiter, Vic Manuel and Jericho Cruz against the Road Warriors, who are bannered by former National Basketball Association Thomas Robinson.
Prior to that, Terrafirma will shoot for its first win when it collides with dangerous Blackwater in the first game at 4 p.m.
With a proven winner in Jeffrey Cariaso as head coach, the Bossing pulled off a stunning 103-84 win over Converge before suffering an 84-91 loss to Meralco.
But the Dyip are expected to show up with fire in their eyes after opening their campaign with a 103-108 loss to NorthPort last Friday.
In that game, top overall pick Stephen Holt failed to make a strong impression after finishing with a forgettable 11 points on 2-of-9 shooting from the field.
Still, Terrafirma coach Johnedel Cardel believes that it's just a matter of time before the prized Filipino-American star comes up with a breakout performance.
"He had several attempts that he usually made but against NorthPort, those shots didn't fall in," said Cardel, who hopes to finally snap their 14-conference playoff drought.
But all eyes will be on the Beermen, who will march to battle without the veteran troika of Lassiter, Manuel and Cruz.
Lassiter, who was part of the Gilas Pilipinas squad that won the gold medal in the 19th Asian Games, is nursing an ankle injury while Manuel is scheduled to undergo knee surgery and Cruz is still being nagged by an injured groin.
"Marcio stepped onto the foot of a teammate during practice," team manager Gee Abanilla said.
"So, he has a high-sprain ankle injury while Jericho's injury was because of the wear and tear and he even played in the PBA On Tour."
"Vic will undergo knee procedure on Wednesday and will be out of the lineup."
With the three veterans sitting out, the Beermen will have a chance to inject their rookies in Troy Mallilin and Kyt Jimenez into the rotation together with seven-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo, Terrence Romeo, Chris Ross, Allyn Bulanadi and new recruit Jeron Teng in a bid to win their first title since the 2019 Commissioner's Cup.
Jimenez, who made heads turn when he recorded for the first quadruple-double in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League history, is fresh from his campaign with the General Santos City Warriors while Mallilin played for Rizal Xentro Mall.
The Beermen will also bring in import Ivan Aska, who was described by Abanilla as the bigger version of their former reinforcement Dez Wells.
"He's got great leaping ability and has a wide body," Abanilla said, referring to the import who already campaigned in Belgium, Greece, Israel, South Korea, France, Macedonia and Puerto Rico.
"But his explosiveness reminds me of Dez Wells."
Abanilla added that Aska's attitude inside and outside the court is truly impressive.
"He's a good defender and loves to get everybody involved. You could tell that he is a veteran because of his excellent decision-making," he said.
