MAGNOLIA and San Miguel are leaving nothing to chance as they bolstered their already formidable lineups for the coming PBA Commissioner's Cup playoffs.
With two days left before the quarterfinals, the Hotshots reactivated shooting guard Jerrick Ahanmisi in place of Fil-Am David Murrell, who was relegated to the injured/reserved list.
READ Yeng roots for ROS' fellow independent team Phoenix to go deep in playoffs
Not to be outdone, the Beermen put veteran big man Vic Manuel as the 15th player on their active list.
The 36-year-old Manuel hasn’t suited up for San Miguel this season after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery last November and was expected to be out for two months.
But a prospective return in the playoffs by the former Gilas Pilipinas power forward makes the Beermen an even formidable lot behind a lineup that boasts of seven-time MVP June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, Don Trollano, Terrence Romeo, Jericho Cruz, Mo Tautuaa, Jeron Teng, and the veteran duo of Marcio Lassiter and Chris Ross.
Then there's SMB import Bennie Boatwright, who’s averaging 38.5 points, 14.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists since replacing Ivan Aska, and you have a team that would make the other squads shake their heads.
San Miguel plays No. 7 seed Rain or Shine in the quarterfinals and holds a twice-to-beat advantage.
Ahanmisi’s reactivation meanwhile, adds shooting and depth to the Magnolia backcourt manned by the deadly trio of Paul Lee, Mark Barroca, and Jio Jalalon.
The top-seeded Hotshots also owns a twice-to-beat advantage against No. 8 TNT Tropang Giga.
Magnolia vs TNT, SMB vs ROS
Magnolia plays TNT in Wednesday night’s main game, while San Miguel tangles with Rain or Shine in Friday’s curtain raiser.
Both quarterfinal matches will be played at the Philsports Arena.
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