Games today:
(Philsports Arena)
4 p.m. — NLEX vs Rain or Shine
8 p.m. — San Miguel vs NorthPort
Red-hot NorthPort shoots for its third straight win when it faces a depleted San Miguel Beer squad in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup today at Philsports Arena.
About 48 hours since posting an impressive 111-95 win over Converge on Wednesday, the Batang Pier will return to the hard court at 8 p.m. armed with a tough mission of upsetting a Beermen squad that is missing the presence of June Mar Fajardo.
In the first game at 4 p.m., Rain or Shine and NLEX will clash for a victory that will keep their flickering playoffs hopes alive.
Even without the league’s most dominant force in Fajardo, San Miguel had proven that it can still emerge successful.
A seven-time Most Valuable Player winner, Fajardo’s latest injury, a fractured left ring finger, would sideline him for four to five weeks.
Fajardo will be out until early next year but is expected to return in time for the playoffs — if ever the Beermen will advance.
Vic Manuel, a veteran forward, underwent knee procedure and will be out for the rest of the tournament, while Terrence Romeo’s shin injury has kept him on the sidelines for quite some time and will remain as a doubtful starter.
Jeron Teng also remains a game-time decision due to his recurring hamstring injury.
Also included in the Beermen list of casualties is Kyt Jimenez, the rookie guard who was accidentally hit by Cliff Hodge during San Miguel’s 93-83 victory over Meralco last 19 November at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Jimenez won’t be able to return because of a fractured bone near his eye socket.
But the Batang Pier know that they still face an acid test against the banged up, but talent-laden Beermen.
An interesting backdrop to the Beermen-Batang Pier tussle is the match-up between two energetic imports in Venky Jois of NorthPort and Ivan Aska of San Miguel Beer.
Jois is coming off a 39-point, 21-rebound output despite being hobbled by a nagging hamstring injury coupled by busted shoe, which forced him to play with a different pair of sneakers in their previous win over the FiberXers.
Aska, on the other hand, was a big part of why the Beermen remain as one of the hottest teams in the tournament.
San Miguel is on a roll, winning three straight matches since dropping its opening game of the season — a 113-117 loss to NLEX last 15 November at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City — and head coach Jorge Gallent has been doing a great job maximizing his remaining healthy pieces.
