PHOENIX guns for its third straight win under new coach Charles Tiu when it battles Meralco in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup on Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
The Fuel Masters and the Bolts tangle at 7:30 p.m.
Powerhouse San Miguel Beer, meanwhile, kicks off its campaign in the tournament against Titan Ultra at 5:15 p.m.
Tiu’s charges nipped Magnolia, 101-98, before tearing apart Titan Ultra, 109-76, to get off to a 2-0 start.
Phoenix hopes to have young big man Kai Ballungay healthy since spraining his ankle against Titan Ultra.
Veteran forward Jason Perkins is also coming off a hamstring injury, but could possibly see action against a Meralco side that debuted in the conference with a 109-88 demolition of Converge.
Meanwhile, the Beermen will have Marcus Lee as their import.
Listed at 6-10, Lee is fresh off a stint with the Cairns Taipans in the 2025-26 Australia NBL season, where he averaged 6.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 blocks.
Lee is seen as a solid front court partner of nine-time league Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo.
Of course, the Beermen are deep in all fronts with wingman CJ Perez, Jericho Cruz, leading the way, along with Mo Tautuaa, Juami Tiongson, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Ross.
The Giant Risers have suffered back-to-back blowout losses in their first two games and will need to get more contributions from the team other than import Mike Gilmore and team leader Joshua Munzon.