SMB aims for 11-0 sweep of elims
San Miguel coach George Gallent PBA IMAGE
SAN Miguel Beer (SMB) guns for an 11-0 sweep of the PBA Philippine Cup elimination round when it faces Meralco today, May 4, at the Batangas City Coliseum.
The Beermen, unbeaten in 10 games, look to close the elims with another win when they clash with the Bolts (5-5) at 6:15 p.m.
Over at the Ynares Center in Pasig City, also-ran squads Blackwater (3-7) and Phoenix (3-7) face off as they try to finish the tournament and the season on a winning note.
TNT was the last PBA squad to score an elimination round sweep during the 2014 Commissioner’s Cup.
“Everybody’s hungry to beat us but we just have to play as a unit because when we play together, we will be okay,” San Miguel coach Jorge Gallent said.
“When the ball is moving, we are a great team.”
Gallent said that they expect the Bolts to come out with all their might, knowing the playoff implications of the game for Meralco.
“Of course we have to match their energy because Meralco has the will to win to make it to the playoffs,” said the SMB coach, who guided the Beermen to the Commissioner’s Cup championship last February.
“We just have to play well, minimize our turnovers, force shots and limit their transition to very little.”
The Bolts need a victory to book a seat in the quarterfinal round.
Meralco though will be short-handed as guard Aaron Black tore his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in the Bolts’ 74-51 victory over the Magnolia Hotshots last Sunday.
Black, the left-handed son of PBA legend and coach Norman, averaged 11.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists while shooting 45 percent from downtown in the all-Filipino conference.
Meralco will now have to gather its source of offense from veterans like Allein Maliksi, Chris Banchero, Bong Quinto and Chris Newsome, while veteran slotman Raymund Almazan will need all the help he can get from rookie big man Brandon Bates to contain San Miguel’s star center June Mar Fajardo.