HOOPS

Ginebra aims for 2-0 vs San Miguel

Mark Escarlote · Oct 30, 2026, 1:44 AM

JORDAN Murphy and Ginebra San Miguel shoot for a 2-0 quarterfinal series lead over San Miguel in the PBA Governors’ Cup on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. — PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF PBA

Games today:

(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)

5:15 p.m. — San Miguel Beer vs Ginebra

7:30 p.m. — Converge vs Rain or Shine

Barangay Ginebra looks to double up on San Miguel Beer for firmer control of its destiny in Game 2 of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors’ Cup best-of-five quarterfinals Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

With momentum on their side, the Kings are taking the opportunity to pin the Beermen against the wall and close in on the coveted semifinals seat when they charge back on court for the 5:15 p.m. curtain-raiser.

No. 3 seed Ginebra stunned second-seeded San Miguel, 104-95, in the series-opener last Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Import Jordan Murphy’s double-double of 29 points and 10 rebounds backed by the offensive efforts of Isaac Go, Scottie Thompson and RJ Abarrientos made the shocker possible for the Kings.

Defense also played a huge role in the victory with Ginebra holding San Miguel center June Mar Fajardo to just three points.

The Kings expect the Beermen to make adjustments and being ready to counter that is a top priority.

“Now, we’re up, but again we cannot rest on that. We know that they will come back strong and we have to be on our toes. We have to be ready come Friday,” Ginebra assistant coach Richard del Rosario said.

Fajardo is eager to rebound from a sub-par outing, so are reinforcement George King, CJ Perez, Don Trollano, Jericho Cruz and Marcio Lasister, who went scoreless on a 0-of-7 shooting from the field in over 20 minutes of play.

“They won (in the first game), so we’re going to bounce back. We’ll prepare well. It’s hard to go down 0-2 in this series since it’s just a best-of-five,” Fajardo said.

Meanwhile, Rain or Shine will try to extend its lead against Converge at 7:30 p.m.

The Elasto Painters stole Game 1 after overhauling a 21-point deficit to turn back the FiberXers, 124-120, last Tuesday.

Head coach Yeng Guiao has commended his team for showing playoffs toughness and buwis-buhay attitude.