SAN Miguel and TNT battled it out for the championship of the PBA Philippine Cup just last September with the Beermen winning over the Tropang Giga in seven thrilling games.
On Saturday, the Beermen and the Tropang Giga will face each other again for the first time in two months. Only this time, it will be a fight for survival as they play a must-win game for a chance to enhance their chances of making it to the quarterfinals of the Commissioner’s Cup.
See Does Ginebra still have a shot at twice-to-beat advantage?
SMB and TNT collide on Saturday, 6:45 p.m. at the Philsports Arena in a game with quarterfinal seeding implications.
The Beermen are in sixth place with a 5-5 win-loss record but the seedings remain uncertain with the race at the middle of the pack still very tight.
The Tropang Giga are on the outside looking in as they are in a share of 10th place with NLEX with a 4-7 win-loss record going into their final game of the elimination round.
San Miguel has won two consecutive games, beating Terrafirma, 131-103, last Wednesday. In that game, June Mar Fajardo returned for the Beermen after recovering from throat surgery, and had 20 points and nine rebounds.
Terrence Romeo was in uniform against Terrafirma but didn’t play, but the San Miguel coaching staff is not discounting the possibility of him playing against TNT.
Head coach Leo Austria could also make his return to the bench after he was on the league’s health protocols.
While San Miguel is starting to see its injured players back, TNT is the total opposite, with its top guard Jayson Castro not expected to return for the team anytime soon after a severe sprain that he suffered against Barangay Ginebra last week.
“We just have to beat (San Miguel) first. And even then, hindi pa rin namin hawak ‘yung fate namin,” said TNT coach Chot Reyes.
TNT has lost three in a row including a 140-108 rout over Bay Area on Wednesday.
In the first game, Phoenix Super LPG also looks to improve its chances of making it to the quarterfinals in its match-up against Terrafirma at 4:30 p.m.
The Fuel Masters are in seventh place with a 5-6 win-loss record, and will look to close the eliminations on a winning note in hopes of obtaining the best seeding possible.
Phoenix, however, has been struggling as of late, picking up its third straight loss last week in a 108-104 defeat against San Miguel.
Terrafirma will be playing its final game of the eliminations, and it wants to finish with a bang. However, the status of import Lester Prosper remains uncertain as of posting time after he was out in their defeat against San Miguel due to health protocols.
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