MANILA, Philippines — Meralco and San Miguel Beer collide in a crucial PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup match that has serious playoff implications as action shifts to the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Tuesday.
The Bolts, coming off an 11-day respite, clash with the Beermen at 7:30 p.m.
Meeting at 5:15 p.m. are Blackwater and Macau.
The boys of coach Luigi Trillo occupies fourth spot with its 5-4 record, behind tournament leader Rain or Shine, which totes an 8-1 record, followed by Ginebra and NLEX, which are both tied at second and third spots with 7-2 cards.
The Beermen are at seventh to eighth places with the Magnolia Hotshots with their mediocre 4-5 records.
Meralco will be shooting for its sixth win in 10 starts, though the team is expected to encounter rough sailing against San Miguel.
The Beermen are coming off a shock 126-120 loss to the Bossing last week despite seeing Bennie Boatwright erupting for 38 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.
It will be a match up between Meralco, a defense-minded squad, and SMB, which is known for its high-octane offense.
Boatwright averaged 39.5 points, 12 rebounds and four assists in his two-game stint with the Beermen thus far, or since taking the spot of Justin Patton.
The Gilas naturalized candidate will get plenty of help from the locals, led by June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, CJ Perez and Jericho Cruz.
The Bolts have import Marvin Jones to lead the team’s defensive effort, with locals Chris Newsome, CJ Cansino, Bong Quinto, Chris Banchero and rookie Jason Brickman out to provide solid backing.
The first game will feature the Bossing, who are now teetering on the brink of elimination with their woeful 2-7 cards, a record they share with the Titan Ultra Giant Risers.
Blackwater’s most recent defeat came at the hands of Ginebra, 115-107.
The Bossing hope to get big numbers yet again from heavyweight import Robert Upshaw, Sedrick Barefield, Christian David, along with RK Ilagan. The Black Knights are out to play spoilers, since at 1-8, they became the first squad to be out of playoff contention.
