THE PBA 48th Season Philippine Cup finals begins on Wednesday with San Miguel facing Meralco for the first time in league history at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
In case you missed it, San Miguel entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed with a 10-1 win-loss record. That sole defeat in the elimination round came at the hands of Meralco, which won, 95-92, an out-of-town game in Batangas City last May 4.
Here’s what to watch for in Game One.
San Miguel vs. Meralco
When: Wednesday, June 5, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Smart-Araneta Coliseum
Watch: RPTV, PBA Rush, Pilipinas Live
OFFENSE VS. DEFENSE
The finals will feature a team that prides itself on offense versus a team that has made defense a calling card over the years. San Miguel currently leads the league in scoring with 107.4 while Meralco is giving up the least points with 86.95.
SHAKING OFF THE RUST
San Miguel is coming off a 12-day rest after it cruised to a sweep of Rain or Shine in the semifinals. Head coach Jorge Gallent is concerned that rust could be a factor in Game One, so it would be up to the players to shake it off.
Meanwhile, Meralco was five days removed from its 78-69 win over Barangay Ginebra in Game Seven of their semifinal series, and could be the team that will have more rhythm in Game One.
JUNE MAR VS. MERALCO BIGS
Attention of the series will also be on June Mar Fajardo, who will be the focal point of the San Miguel defense. The seven-time MVP will be up against the Meralco frontline led by Raymond Almazan and Brandon Bates, who were just coming off a battle against Christian Standhardinger of Barangay Ginebra. Almazan was key in Meralco’s Game Six win where he had seven points and 11 rebounds, while Bates had a Game Seven to remember when he had six blocks.
Like in the previous two playoff series, Fajardo will have to deal with another big man that can shoot from the outside in Almazan, who was the champion of the Three-Point Shootout for bigs during the PBA All-Star Bacolod.
THREE-POINT SHOOTERS
This series will also feature the battle of the three-point shooters which could be the deciding factor as well.
San Miguel leads the league in three-point shooting thanks in large part to Marcio Lassiter, who is in contention to become the player with the most threes in PBA history, and Don Trollano.
Lassiter has made a team-high 48 threes and is shooting 45 percent from that area, while Trollano is second with 34, and owns a 37.8 percent clip this conference.
Meralco isn’t bad at hitting the three-ball either with Allein Maliksi leading his team with 27 threes. Other players can also hit the three in Chris Newsome (25), Chris Banchero (22) and Bong Quinto (22).
OTHER PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chris Banchero had his conference-high 24 points in Meralco’s Game Seven win, and his presence will be vital to the Bolts’ chances of winning the finals series.
Jericho Cruz’s numbers dropped during the semifinals where he averaged 6.25 points. But Cruz has proven already that he can lit up in the finals as he once had 30 points during the Commissioner’s Cup finals last February against Magnolia.
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