The streaking and still undefeated San Miguel Beer is taking on Converge, one of the emerging top teams in the 2023 PBA Governors' Cup, on Saturday, Feb. 11, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Looking to protect their clean 5-0 slate, the Beermen face another test of character against the fast-paced playing FiberXers who are equally eager to get back on track in the 6:45 p.m. encounter.
A rejuvenated Terrafirma, meanwhile, clashes against perennial contender TNT in the opening game at 4:30 p.m.
While not exactly surprised with SMB's performance almost halfway through their elimination schedule, head coach Jorge Gallent remained wary of being scouted by the remaining teams especially after surviving two close encounters against Meralco and Magnolia, both of which a total opposite of their first three games which they won with an average of 19-point margin.
"Teams are getting tougher so we just have to be tough. I didn't expect na yung first three games I think 19 points yung average na lamang. When the league is getting longer nai-scout kami. We just have to learn through that and work through it," said Gallent.
The veteran mentor however credited the players for the perfect start particulary Cameron Clark who is proving to be a perfect fit to the Beermen's loaded lineup.
We've been practicing hard. We've been doing things that surprise our opponent. Our import kasi came early so Cam is a very big factor here in this 5-0 start. He's doing a great job so hats off to him," said Gallent
"Hats off to the players. All of them are playing hard so yung 5-0 na iyon is because of all of them playing hard and because of them learning to play with one another," he added.
Such cohesion is exactly what SMB needs to keep if it wished to overcome the tough challenge of Converge which is known to be a very disciplined run-and-gun team.
The FiberXers are also not lacking in firepower led by import Jamaal Franklin and local crew built around Jeron Teng, Maverick Ahanmisi, Justine Arana and Abu Tratter although they all need to be on their best forms if they want to keep in step with the talent-laden Beermen.
For SMB's part, usual suspects such as June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, and Marcio Lassiter are expected to carry the load, although guys like Jericho Cruz, Simon Enciso and Allyn Bulanadi have shown the capability to explode at any given time.