Beermen put winning streak on the line

Games today:

(Ynares Center-Montalban)

5:15 p.m. — Terrafirma vs Phoenix

7:30 p.m. — Titan Ultra vs San Miguel

Reigning champion San Miguel Beer guns for a fifth straight win to climb to a share of the tight second spot against an inspired Titan Ultra in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Philippine Cup today at the Ynares Center-Montalban.

Tip-off time is set at 7:30 p.m. as action resumes following a playdate postponement last Sunday due to inclement weather brought by super typhoon “Uwan.”

Meanwhile, Terrafirma and Phoenix try to fan their flickering playoffs bids when they meet in the curtain-raiser at 5:15 p.m.

The Beermen have already left their flat 0-2 start behind, by racking up four straight victories over Rain or Shine, Barangay Ginebra and Converge before a narrow escape over Magnolia, 94-92, last Friday.

San Miguel sports a 4-2 win-loss record, tied with Magnolia and Converge. The Beermen are a win behind second-running squads Rain or Shine and NLEX, which share identical 5-2 slates behind league-leading TNT (5-1).

Titan Ultra, on the other hand, is at the bottom half of the standings with a 2-4 mark at ninth place.

Beermen coach Leo Austria reminds his men not to take the Giant Risers lightly despite being far back in the playoff race compared to the four fancied contenders they’ve downed in their previous outings.

“Titan is out there to win games. We don’t know what will happen in that game. We have to respect every team in the PBA,” Austria said.

Titan Ultra just ended a four-game skid with a 97-86 victory over Blackwater last week.

The Giant Risers got extra days of preparation and rest, following the postponement of their game against the Kings last Sunday.

“We have five more games. Hopefully, in those five games, we’ll be able to pick up victories. Win the games we know we have a big chance of winning and at the same time pull off some upsets against stronger teams to get into the playoffs,” Giant Risers head coach Johnedel Cardel said.

Interestingly, the match will also feature the showdown of Draftmates and current statistics race leaders, reigning Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel Beer and resurgent Calvin Abueva of Titan Ultra.

Six-foot-10 Fajardo leads the league in rebounds (15.3) while also averaging 18.8 points while Abueva banners his team with his own double-double norms of 22.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per outing.

In the opening match, the Fuel Masters and Dyip are looking to arrest their four-game losing slump and boost their chances of advancing to the next round.

They are at the bottom of the standings alongside Blackwater with 1-5 cards.