(c) PBA Media Bureau
Magnolia did the impossible in game 1 by outplaying San Miguel for 48 minutes. It was not a dominant win but it showed that this series could be much closer than expected.
It is time to move to game 2. Which team will win?
X-Factors
Ian Sangalang
Three-point shooting
Bench scoring
Ian Sangalang will be the key player of game 2. He did his part in game 1 by putting up 17 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and 8/18 FG. Magnolia needs him to continue to put pressure on the frontline of San Miguel or else The Kraken and his back-ups will feast on them on the offensive end.
Magnolia was the more efficient three-point shooting squad in game 1 at 32%, but San Miguel hit more long bombs. In a way, the misses of the Beermen help the Hotshots. If they managed to hit more in game 2, San Miguel could be in for an easy win.
The bench is important. San Miguel has the most powerful bench in the league but they were outscored in game 1, 23-31. The bench of Magnolia should keep their focus and effort to keep in pace with the Beermen.
Overall, every game in the series will be about Magnolia answering all the blows of San Miguel and finding a way to outscore them.
Prediction
Just by looking at the shooting number of San Miguel, I think they will easily get game 2. It would be hard to ask the core scorers of Magnolia (Sangalang, Lee, Barroca, Jalalon) to score more than 15 points in another game, just like game 1. The Beermen will make defensive adjustments that will make their lives much harder.
San Miguel will win game 2 and I think it will be a blowout.
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