THE Mall of Asia Arena will be the site of Sunday’s all-important PBA 50th Season Philippine Cup semifinal games, which will see San Miguel and TNT going for a 3-1 lead in their respective series.
But after a win on Friday, Meralco is looking to even things up and stay in contention in the race for the finals.
READ Newsome feared out of Meralco-TNT playoffs due to knee injury
Barangay Ginebra, on the other hand, will try to bounce back from back-to-back losses.
Let’s discuss the two games in this preview:
SAN MIGUEL VS. BARANGAY GINEBRA
When: Sunday, January 11. 5:15 p.m.
Where: Mall of Asia Arena
Critical Game 4 for Ginebra
San Miguel vies for a 3-1 series lead in their semifinal match-up with Ginebra on Sunday. The Beermen came away with a 91-85 win in Game 3 to claim the upper hand for the first time in their best-of-seven series with the Gin Kings.
SMB’s firepower
The depth of San Miguel has been showcased in this series following the Game 3 win. Don Trollano fired up the Beermen with his offense, hitting 33 points in the victory. Mo Tautuaa also shone off the bench with 13 points. Ginebra need to find answers against SMB’s bench now to avoid falling into a deep hole.
Foul trouble for Gin Kings
Ginebra need to stay out of foul trouble as well in Game 4. Friday’s game had Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, RJ Abarrientos, and Troy Rosario each finishing with five fouls, forcing coach Tim Cone to bring them in and out of the game far too many times than he planned.
June Mar’s shoulder
It was revealed in Game 3 that June Mar Fajardo is bothered by a shoulder injury during the playoffs, and it looked like it affected him on Friday when he nearly went scoreless before scoring six points on Sunday. With only a day of rest, can Fajardo withstand the injury one more time before heading to Game 5 where the nine-time MVP will get two days to heal.
TNT VS. MERALCO
When: Sunday, January 11. 7:30 p.m.
Where: Mall of Asia Arena
Going for the tie
Meralco will try to win its second straight game in the series and even things up against TNT on Sunday. The Bolts are finally on the board, revitalized after their 97-89 win on Friday, instead of being down, 0-3, in the series.
Newsome doubtful
Game 3’s win may have come at a prize as Chris Newsome sustained a left knee injury, putting his status not just in Game 4 but for the entire series in doubt. If there is any consolation, an MRI revealed that there was no structural damage in his ACL and MCL, which could open up for Newsome returning at some point in this playoffs.
The likes of CJ Cansino and Bong Quinto will need to produce even more after the two finally hit the mark offensively in Game 3. Cansino, the leading scorer of the team during the eliminations, had 18 points, while Quinto had 13 points and eight rebounds, more than his 9.0-point, 4.5-rebound average during the first two games.
Nenad also doubtful
Initially reported to miss Games 2 and 3 of the series due to the wedding of his daughter in New Zealand, Meralco active consultant Nenad Vucinic could miss Sunday’s game as well. On Friday, Meralco coach Luigi Trillo was only definitive that Vucinic will be with the team in Game 5, although Vucinic has been contributing to the coaching staff from far away, sending videos and giving inputs for their preparation.
Meralco’s defense against Oftana, Heading
Meralco put the clamps on Calvin Oftana and Jordan Heading as the top two scorers of the team shot for a combined 1-of-14 from the field. With Oftana and Heading shackled, Meralco forced TNT into a low-scoring affair which the Bolts need to do as well in Game 4 to have a shot at winning.
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