BARANGAY Ginebra and TNT seek to maintain their lead in their respective semifinal series in the PBA 50th Season Philippine Cup on Wednesday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Here is a preview of the two games.
SAN MIGUEL VS. BARANGAY GINEBRA
When: Wednesday, January 7. 5:15 p.m.
Where: Smart-Araneta Coliseum
Gin Kings go for 2-0 lead
Ginebra shoots for a 2-0 lead in its best-of-seven semifinal series against San Miguel. The Gin Kings opened their series with a 99-90 victory last Sunday. A two-game advantage would be massive if the Gin Kings pull it off against the Beermen on Wednesday.
Game 1 win doesn’t guarantee anything
During their previous series encounter last season in the Philippine Cup, the Gin Kings actually won Game 1 as well, beating the Beermen by only two points, 73-71, on June 25. Ginebra, though, was eventually ousted in Game 7 when San Miguel emerged victorious, 100-93, last July 9.
Definitely, all is not lost for SMB in this series.
Free throw shooting
One of the stories of San Miguel’s defeat was its free throw woes.
The Beermen only made 15 of their 31 attempts from the charity stripe, with June Mar Fajardo getting the bulk of the misses after going just 5-of-12.
Defensive adjustments
A big factor in Ginebra’s Game 1 victory was perimeter points where it outscored San Miguel, 52-31. Norbert Torres was among those who contributed when he made two threes in an effort to take Fajardo away from the paint and create space inside.
Trollano, fellow bench mob must step up
Even though Fajardo produced big numbers with 27 points and 23 rebounds, San Miguel still lost Game 1 and a major factor was the bench production, or a lack thereof.
Don Trollano was among those who struggled, scoring just five points and making just one of his seven attempts. The Beermen bench which topped the league in points scored must step up in Game 2.
TNT VS. MERALCO
When: Wednesday, January 7. 7:30 p.m.
Where: Smart-Araneta Coliseum
Meralco looks to tie after squandering 21-point lead
TNT goes for a 2-0 lead in the semifinals after it beat Meralco, 100-95, on Sunday. The Tropang 5G won after overhauling a 21-point second-quarter deficit. The Bolts look to bounce back after the victory that got away.
Lights out in the first half
Meralco grabbed the early lead after a true shooting percentage of 74 percent in the first quarter and 54 percent in the second quarter. Even though it won, TNT must take care its defense, as another torrid shooting night for Meralco might be costly this time.
Adjustments to the calls
After the Game 1 defeat, Meralco coach Luigi Trillo lamented the officiating of the match-up and called for consistency after the series opener saw a 47-19 disparity in free throws in favor of TNT. Meralco will look to adjust in order to avoid a 0-2 deficit.
Heading shackled
After a solid showing in the previous two games against Magnolia where he exploded on offense, Jordan Heading was limited to 1-of-5 from the field, missing all three of his three-point attempts. If Heading regains his form in Game 2, that could be a problem for Meralco.
Cansino silent in the second half
CJ Cansino will try to bounce back in Game 2 after he was unable to shoot consistently in the opening game.
After scoring 13 points in the first half, Cansino wound up with just a single point in the second half, which also hurt the offense of Meralco.
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