BARANGAY Ginebra goes for a sweep of San Miguel on Tuesday as the PBA 50th Season Governors’ Cup quarterfinals heads to Dasmariñas City, Cavite.
The Gin Kings are in a position to end the best-of-five series after their decisive 126-99 win in Game 2 last Friday.
Meanwhile, Converge and Rain or Shine seek the crucial 2-1 lead in Game 3 of their own quarterfinal series.
The FiberXers evened things after a thrilling 130-125 win in Game 2 last Friday..
Here is a preview of Tuesday’s out-of-town Game 3s.
RAIN OR SHINE VS. CONVERGE
When: Tuesday, November 3. 5:15 p.m.
Where: City of Dasmariñas Arena, Cavite
Turnovers should be lessened
Rain or Shine committed 15 turnovers in Game 2, a few by Adrian Nocum in the final seconds that proved costly as Converge was able to capitalize on the extra possessions. The Elasto Painters also had 20 turnovers in Game 1, giving them an average of 17.5 in the series. With the fast pace of play of both teams in the series, high turnovers will occur, but minimizing it will go a long way for Rain or Shine.
Nocum shootin’ and dishin’
Adrian Nocum has been spectacular for Rain or Shine in the series. In Game 2, Nocum had 22 points and a career-high 18 assists in, unfortunately for the Elasto Painters, a losing cause. Nocum has also been shooting the lights out, going 7-of-8 from threes in this series.
Juan GDL sets tone
Juan Gomez de Liano is a picture of consistency for Converge in this series. In Game 2, Gomez de Liano contributed across-the-board numbers of 20 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. Juan also shot the lights out with a 4-of-5 clip from three-point range. If Gomez de Liano churn out the same kind of numbers, or even pick up a triple double in Game 3, Converge will likely be victorious.
BARANGAY GINEBRA VS. SAN MIGUEL
When: Tuesday, November 3. 7:30 p.m.
Where: City of Dasmariñas Arena, Cavite
Murphy unstoppable
Barangay Ginebra has been leaning heavily on Jordan Murphy in this series, being a match-up problem for San Miguel. Murphy had a near triple double of 33 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists in Game 2, bringing his averages to 31 points and 10.5 rebounds in the series. His ability to draw fouls have also been a problem for SMB, with Murphy shooting 16-of-21 from the foul line. San Miguel must contain Murphy now in order to extend the series.
Misfiring from the outside
A source of offense for San Miguel this conference is their outside shooting, but it has been inconsistent in the playoffs. A 36-percent outside shooting team in eliminations, San Miguel is only hitting 26 percent from threes and fours in the two games. One player that SMB is missing is Marcio Lassiter, who has missed all seven of his threes and fours in the series. If Lassiter and the rest of the Beermen can hit their outside shots, there is a good chance that SMB will win Game 3.
King must step up
George King hasn’t provided the volume of points that he used to make in the eliminations where he averaged 33.7 points on 21.3 shot attempts. In the quarterfinals, King is only averaging 16.5 points on 14.5 shot attempts. In Game 2, King scored his lowest output of the conference of 13 points. With San Miguel facing elimination, King must start to become more aggressive in taking shots.
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