Games today:

(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)

5 p.m. — NLEX vs Terrafirma

7:30 p.m. — San Miguel Beer vs Phoenix

San Miguel Beer will be opening its title defense with a rejigged lineup when it battles Phoenix Super LPG in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup on Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Game time is at 7:30 p.m. with the Beermen looking to come up with a strong start in this mid-season tourney they won last year with the prolific Benny Boatwright as reinforcement.

Prior to that, NLEX will shoot for its second straight win when it collides with Terrafirma in the first game at 5 p.m.

Bannered by Michael Griffin-Watkins, the Road Warriors barged into the win column following a 107-95 triumph over Blackwater last Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

Griffin-Watkins terrorized the paint, pulling down 25 rebounds to go with his 26 points for NLEX, which collected the victory after surviving the 40-point explosion of Blackwater import George King.

“We didn’t follow what we learned from our months of training during the first game. Coach (Jong Uichico) emphasized that we just needed to continue what we did,” said Robert Bolick, who scored 23 points as NLEX eased the pain of its 87-114 loss to NorthPort in its opening game.

But the spotlight belongs to the Beermen.

After sputtering in the previous Governors’ Cup, the Beermen decided to shake things up by sending veterans Terrence Romeo and Vic Manuel to the Dyip in exchange for Juami Tiongson and Andreas Cahilig.

The 33-year-old Tiongson bounced around the league in a 10-year career but this will be his first time to join a championship contender like the Beermen.

He will join the backcourt that features Kris Rosales and the seasoned Chris Ross, giving him a good chance to have a bigger role if he fits nicely in the system of Beermen coach Jorge Gallent.