BARANGAY Ginebra and TNT seek a 3-1 lead in the PBA 50th Season Commissioner’s Cup semifinals on a holiday Wednesday as the league goes back to the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Preview of the two semifinals games in this piece.
RAIN OR SHINE VS. BARANGAY GINEBRA
Gin Kings lead the series, 2-1
When: Wednesday, May 27. 5:15 p.m.
Where: Smart-Araneta Coliseum
Ginebra goes for commanding lead
Ginebra vies for a 3-1 lead in the semifinals on Wednesday against Rain or Shine. The Gin Kings beat the Elasto Painters, 103-98, for the second consecutive game last Sunday to grab the lead for the first time in the series after losing Game 1.
Solid defense by the Gins
Scottie Thompson delivered his offense in Game 3 when he went for 25 points to lead his team. But Thompson was also solid on defense when he had three steals. Stephen Holt also got back to what he became known for during his early days with Ginebra when he had three steals as well. That defense led to 20 turnovers for Rain or Shine, including seven from Adrian Nocum and four from Jaylen Johnson.
Clarito non-factor offensively
After two impressive games on offense in the semifinals, Jhonard Clarito was a non-factor in Game 3 when he was limited to five points on 2-of-6 shooting. Clarito was able to contribute in other ways with his nine rebounds and five steals, but Rain or Shine still needs his offense.
Three-point shooting woes continue for JJ
Jaylen Johnson produced a near triple-double of 23 points, 21 rebounds, and eight assists in Game 3. Still, the Elasto Painters are missing Johnson’s three-point shooting after going 1-of-7 from the outside last Sunday.
On the bright side, Rain or Shine had its best game in terms of shooting the threes by making 17, with Caelan Tiongson draining seven in his return after missing two games due to a bum stomach, and Andrei Caracut making five straight to open Game 3.
TNT VS. MERALCO
Tropang 5G lead the series, 2-1
When: Wednesday, May 27. 7:30 p.m.
Where: Smart-Araneta Coliseum
New imports for both teams
For the first time in quite a while, the teams battling each other in the semifinals will parade new imports on Wednesday. TNT has brought back former San Miguel import Chris McCullough to serve as the replacement for Bol Bol. Meralco made its own change by signing American-Egyptian Patrick Gardner to replace Marvin Jones.
Locals step up again
Like what they have been doing in the first two games with Bol Bol, the locals stepped up again after their super import was ruled out for the rest of the conference due to an Achilles tear. After averaging only 5.3 points in the eliminations and 3.5 in the first two games of the semifinals, Rey Nambatac finally exploded with a team-high 18 points while also chipping in eight rebounds. Calvin Oftana and Jordan Heading had 15 and 12 points respectively to help TNT win over Meralco, 77-75, in Game 3.
That was not the case for Meralco in Game 3 with Chris Newsome being the only double-digit scorer for the Bolts with 10 markers, way below his 24-point output in Game 2.
Meralco missing Cansino
CJ Cansino is still finding his form in the semifinals after scoring only eight points on 2-of-11 shooting. His scoring is still way below the 16.1-point average he had in the eliminations. Perhaps the mask that he wore to protect his broken nose is still bothering him. But with two days to prepare for Game 4, Cansino could be due for a big game.
Mocon a boost for the Bolts
Javee Mocon continues to step up for Meralco in this semifinal series. Over the last two games, Mocon is averaging 12 points and six rebounds, unlike in the eliminations where he was only putting in 8.8 points and 3.2 rebounds.
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