(c) PBA Media Bureau
Alaska has finally found their way back to the PBA semifinals. Unfortunately, they will face a very familiar foe in San Miguel Beermen.
The memory of the 0-3 comeback of the Beermen should still be fresh in the minds of the Aces. They are playing much better than San Miguel, but in terms of talent, Alaska is still way behind.
KEY FACTORS
Bench Scoring
June Mar Fajardo
Fouls
Alaska always plays a lot of players. Even in the quarterfinals, they gave minutes to 11 players. That is the reason why they have the best scoring bench in the conference. I am pretty sure they will go with 11 players again, so those role players should avoid making a lot of mistakes.
Sonny Thoss is not as good as the Sonny Thoss that Fajardo faced in the finals a few years ago. He should be aggressive against him. Fajardo may be tasked to handle Manuel who is red hot!
What was the biggest headache of TNT against San Miguel? Fouls. TNT committed 23 against only 16 for San Miguel in game 2. Alaska should be patient and not let San Miguel feast with attracting a lot of fouls.
PREDICTION
I was not amazed by the Alaska Aces that I saw in the quarterfinals. Their offense was pretty bad. Their defense though was elite.
Against San Miguel, that will be pretty hard to bet on in game 1. I am pretty sure coach Leo Austria will simplify things by juicing out every point that he can get by running their offense through Fajardo.
I don't expect the number of fouls to be in the favor of Alaska, anytime soon. So for game 1, San Miguel will win it.
Prediction Record: 3 Corrects, 3 Mistakes
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