Games today:
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
5 p.m. — Converge vs TNT
7:30 p.m. — San Miguel vs Ginebra
San Miguel Beer blew out Blackwater the last time out to keep its pristine record intact.
But despite the one-sided affair to capture their second straight win, the Beermen got a valuable take away which they hope to bring in the next game: No more flat start.
Beermen coach Jorge Gallent reminds his men that they may not be as lucky if there will be a repeat of an early misstep against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in their Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup Group B showdown today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Pool B main game is set at 7:30 p.m. following the 5 p.m. Group A tipoff between undefeated defending champion TNT and Converge.
San Miguel had to shake off a sluggish first half and overhaul a seven-point deficit at halftime to beat a winless all-Filipino Blackwater, 128-108, Sunday night for a three-way tie on top of the standings.
The result could have turned ugly for the Beermen if not for their second half rally spearheaded by import Jordan Adam’s 50-point explosion.
“We can’t play how we played in the first half. Definitely, the Gins will blow us out. We just have to play how we played in the second half and we have to bring it to Barangay Ginebra’s game on Tuesday,” Gallent said.
“If we do that we’ll have a chance of keeping the game close and having a chance to win in the end game.”
San Miguel is tied with Rain or Shine and NLEX at the top spot.
The Kings will definitely be a dangerous team as they seek to bounce back from a disappointing start in their campaign to reclaim the crown.
Ginebra absorbed a 64-73 defeat at the hands of the Elasto Painters last Saturday in Candon, Ilocos Sur after getting decked by a 21-12 tear by Rain or Shine in the final period.
Three-time Best Import winner Justin Brownlee is expected to rebound from a rather silent debut outing of just 18 points.
Meanwhile, the Tropang Giga despite missing RR Pogoy (back) and Kelly Williams (calf) are on a two-game roll as the only unscathed squad in Group A.
‘We can’t play how we played in the first half.’
The return of Poy Erram after a season-long absence due to a knee injury, addition of veteran guard Rey Nambatac and consistency of Calvin Oftana and Glenn Khobuntin to complement the explosiveness of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson bode well with TNT’s title-repeat drive.
However, Tropang Giga head coach Chot Reyes remains wary of the FiberXers.
“I’d like to think that (we’re doing great) but I don’t have the luxury because coming up next is Converge and you saw how good their import is,” said Reyes, whose squad trumped Meralco, 93-73, last Thursday.
“So that’s something that’s gonna be a very different challenge for us. They play a very different game than Meralco.”
Converge is on a four-way tie at second spot with a 1-1 record along with Meralco, NorthPort and Magnolia.
Import Scotty Hopson dropped 26 points but wasn’t enough to save the FiberXers from a 94-99 defeat at the hands of the Hotshots last Friday.
Hopson debuted with 46 points in a lopsided win over Terrafirma last week.