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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider SMB aims to bolster Top 2 bid vs NorthPort

SMB aims to bolster Top 2 bid vs NorthPort

Published Apr 21, 2024 05:47 am

At A Glance

  • San Miguel Beer aims to strengthen its bid for the top spot and the twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs when it takes on the struggling NorthPort in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Sunday, April 21.

San Miguel Beer aims to strengthen its bid for the top spot and the twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs when it takes on the struggling NorthPort in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Sunday, April 21.

 

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Already assured of a spot in the quarterfnals after picking up their sixth win, the Beermen are looking to keep their record unblemished against the Batang Pier in the 6:15 p.m. affair.

Meralco, on the other hand, hopes to get its playoff bid back on track against the also-ran Converge in the first offering at 3 p.m. 

SMB head coach Jorge Gallent is bringing in the same mentality heading into the contest, taking it one game at a time and not putting pressure on his wards in trying to maintain the spotless run or securing the quarterfinals bonus.

For one, the Beermen are entering a grueling stretch in their schedule with the NorthPort game being its second in a three-day span.

“We are going for our seventh step on Sunday. We’ll be playing five games in two weeks with one out of town game. We just got to rest and prepare for the team that we’ll be playing against,” said Gallent.

There are no signs of slowing down for the mighty SMB, easily taking the fight out of a Converge team, which is riding the momentum of its strong first half, with a 51-point explosion in the third frame.

Weapons are simply aplenty for the Beermen with Marcio Lassiter and Terrence Romeo leading the charge alongside Don Trollano, June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez.

In contrast, the Batang Pier are suddenly groping for form after a turbulent stretch where they saw them lose three straight after a promising 4-1 start in their campaign.

A huge reason behind that is the shooting woes of Arvin Tolentino, who, after crowding NLEX’s Robert Bolick in the league best scorers, suddenly went on a slump, only averaging 14.7 points in the last three games – a far cry from his 20.0 average in the first six games.

Rookie Zav Lucero have been carrying the scoring cudgels for the team especially after starting center JM Calma was out of commission due to an ACL tear but he will need more contributions from the likes of Joshua Munzon, Will Navarro, and fellow rookies Fran Yu and Cade Flores to try and get back on the winning column.


 

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