Does Magnolia Stand a Chance Against the Beermen?



Magnolia Hotshots is a great team. They deserve to be in the Finals. They are the 2nd best team in this conference.


But, is the result of this series very obvious?

If you are a Magnolia fan, try to look at the five games of the SMB-Ginebra series. And cringed in fear. 

Why?

First, Ginebra was only able to win a single game. Yes, it is true that, they should have won that game 2, but the what ifs will forever be what ifs.

And who was Ginebra again? They are coach by the most successful coach in the history of the league. They have the second deepest squad in the country. 

I mean, we are talking here about LA Tenorio, one of the top 4 point guard in the league, Scottie Thompson, the most unique weapon in the nation, Joe Devance, the tallest playmaking big in the country, Japeth Aguilar, the most athletic giant in the league and then a bench with Sol Mercado, Kevin Ferrer and Mark Caguioa. 

And that squad was led by coach Tim and still, they can only afford a single victory. 

Second, Junemar Fajardo just played around against the Kings. He averaged 20.8 points and 12.8 rebounds. Here is the scariest thing, he shot 63.5% in the field. In a way, San Miguel could have fed and fed him and he could have averaged maybe 40 points, shooting at 50%?

If a team that have a Japeth Aguilar and Joe Devance can only pushed the Kraken to those numbers, what can a frontline led by Ian Sangalang and Raffi Reavis do?

Lastly, can the gritty and leech-like defense of the small guard rotation of Magnolia work against the tall and capable shooting guard rotation of San Miguel?

Jio Jalalon, Mark Barroca and Justin Melton can defend, but once Marcio Lassiter, Alex Cabagnot and Chris Ross rise up for their shots, it is hard to believe that they can have an effect on those attempts. 


I am hoping for a great series, but it is getting hard to believe that we could even surpass game 5. 

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