(c) PBA Media Bureau
Brgy. Ginebra San Miguel will end up as the top seed of the upcoming 2018 Gov. Cup playoffs. They are on their way to get their 3rd straight championship this conference.
Ginebra is playing so well this tournament, even though they suffered a lot of injuries. They are the third-best scoring team, best in terms of FG% and best in terms of assists.
So, it is hard to bet against them. But still, this is a sports competition and I see two things as the possible reason why Ginebra will fail to complete the three-peat.
San Miguel Beermen
The Beermen still have the most loaded line-up in the league. June Mar Fajardo and Christian Standhardinger are, arguably, the two best players in the league.
San Miguel was just out-coached in the 2018 Commissioner's Cup finals. Add that defeat to the driving force of San Miguel in ending the reign of Ginebra.
In reality, Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar are not capable of stopping Fajardo and Standhardinger. Although, Ginebra can have tactical maneuvers to help them fend off the monstrous duo of San Miguel.
Even in the wings and in the backcourt, San Miguel still has better talent.
At the end of the day, the coaching staff of Ginebra is still capable of finding a way against the Beermen. It is up to the coaching staff of the Beermen to show that they can answer back.
Injuries
Although Greg Slaughter, Art Dela Cruz and Sol Mercado have returned, that doesn't mean that the injury bug of Ginebra is already cured.
Remember that the core of Ginebra was complete in their triumph in the 2018 Commissioner's Cup. They may need to complete again if they want to repeat as 2018 Governors' Cup champion.
If they meet San Miguel again in this playoffs and one of their core players is missing, I do not think Ginebra can win.
ANTIPOLO — Meralco picked up from where it left off in the PBA Governors Cup playoffs, beating Alaska, 97-92, to draw first blood in their best-of-five semifinal series at the Ynares Center.
ReplyDeleteAllen Durham and Chris Newsome once again carried the streaking Bolts, who had to win six straight do-or-die games just to reach the semifinals, yet are now two wins away from a third successive finals appearance in this conference.
The Bolts, who entered the playoffs as the seventh seed, will go for a 2-0 lead against the third-seeded Aces on Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“I think we are just running on adrenaline right now. We are running on emotions having made the semis just two days ago,” said Meralco coach Norman Black, who will celebrate his 61st birthday on Monday.
Durham finished with 32 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists for Bolts, who took a 47-31 lead in the second quarter but had to turn back repeated rallies by Alaska in the second half.
The Aces, who bundled out San Miguel in the quarterfinals, cut the deficit down to six points,82-76, but a triple by Chris Newsome and a lay-up by Baser Amer knocked the wind out of Alaska's sails.
Newsome scored 16 points while Amer added 14 points.
Mike Harris had 37 points and 18 rebounds while Chris Banchero, who was listed as a game time decision following an injury, had 16 points for the Aces.