Will Hotshots toot for Jericho?
In the Bible, there’s a story of how the Israelites marched around the city of Jericho for seven days with the priests blowing their horns until the walls collapsed. In Game Five of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Sunday, Jericho Cruz was indestructible as he fired 30 points, including 8-of-14 triples, to lift San Miguel Beer to a 108-98 win over Magnolia. The victory pushed the Beermen up, 3-2, in the best-of-seven duel. Now with a twice-to-beat advantage, San Miguel can wrap it up by taking Game Six tonight.
It’s been a battle of offense versus defense from the onset. In San Miguel’s three victories, the Beermen have normed 106.7 points. In Magnolia’s two triumphs, the Hotshots held San Miguel to an average of 82.5. Coach Chito Victolero isn’t concerned about how many points Magnolia puts on the board. His focus is limiting San Miguel’s output to less than 90 to give the Hotshots a chance to win.
What’s fueling San Miguel’s offense is its three-point shooting. In the Beermen’s three wins, they’ve averaged 14 three-point connections while in their two losses, it’s down to 7.5. San Miguel is a volume-shooting squad, meaning it thrives in generating extra possessions. In Game Five, San Miguel took 87 field goal attempts and Magnolia, 76. So even as the Beermen shot .414 from the floor and the Hotshots hit a higher .447, San Miguel still came out on top. It helped the Beermen that they forced 21 turnovers and grabbed more rebounds, 52-47.
From Game One to Game Four, Magnolia’s bench outscored San Miguel’s relievers. But in Game Five, the Beermen won the shootout, 44-25 with Cruz and Don Trollano combining for 40. The Martilyo Boys got the job done without Jeron Teng playing a single second. Magnolia’s downfall was when San Miguel began dropping threes, the Hotshots panicked and tried to outshoot the Beermen. Magnolia wound up taking 50 three-point shots when in Game Three, the Hotshots took only 14 and still won. Magnolia lost its composure in the heat of San Miguel’s fiery assault and that’s something the Hotshots can’t afford to do.
If Magnolia brings back the intensity in its defense, it has a chance to extend the series to a Game Seven. It’ll start from Tyler Bey shadowing Bennie Boatwright and the rest of the Hotshots blowing their horns to bring down the walls of Jericho. In Game Five, Boatwright adjusted his offensive position and played the interior a lot more, attracting the double team and passing out to open teammates. Boatwright will likely do the same in Game Six because it gets the locals, like Cruz, more involved in puncturing the hoop. That also allows June Mar Fajardo to free himself for a drop pass from Boatwright on the weak side.
Coach Jorge Gallent is a win away from bagging his first-ever PBA championship in the saddle. Victolero will try to force a winner-take-all Game Seven on Friday. It’ll be quite a firestorm tonight.
News Related
-
Anyone who’s purchased gift baskets to hand out to loved ones this holiday season might need to find a backup present after the latest food recall that involves festive cookies. Gift basket company Wine Country Gift Baskets just announced that it is voluntarily recalling all gift baskets that feature Acorn Baking ...
See Details:
Recall Just Announced For Popular Cookies Featured In Holiday Gift Baskets
-
LOS ANGELES: Quarterback Jalen Hurts ran in an overtime touchdown to give the Philadelphia Eagles a 37-34 NFL win over the Buffalo Bills Sunday (Monday in Manila) and move them to 10-1 on the season. The Eagles, who lost the Super Bowl to Kansas City last season, trailed at half-time ...
See Details:
Eagles rally past Bills in overtime as Chiefs win
-
Yen Makabenta First word WHILE UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other promoters of the climate emergency are preparing to convene the 28th conference of the parties (COP28) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the United Arab Emirates, starting on November 30 and stretching to December 12, ...
See Details:
Reality bites the green energy agenda
-
Sandigan orders Marcos Sr. pal to pay workers The Sandiganbayan has ordered the enforcement of a July 2023 ruling ordering a Marcos Sr. associate to pay a lumber company’s workers P2.1 million in damages as well as return 60 percent of their company’s shares and pay all unpaid benefits. The ...
See Details:
Sandigan orders Marcos Sr. pal to pay workers
-
DSWD: Shear line, LPA affect 1.2 million people; over 18,000 families evacuated MANILA, Philippines – More than 18,000 families have fled to evacuation centers across flood-affected regions in the country due to the impact of the shear line and low pressure area. Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) gave ...
See Details:
DSWD: Shear line, LPA affect 1.2 million people; over 18,000 families evacuated
-
-
MANILA, Philippines: The entire Luzon, including Metro Manila, is expected to experience isolated rain showers and thunderstorms as the northeast monsoon (“amihan”) and easterlies will be affecting the country over the next 24 hours, the state-run weather agency said on Tuesday. Weather specialist Patrick del Mundo of the Philippine Atmospheric ...
See Details:
Rain showers, thunderstorms over Luzon, including Metro Manila — Pagasa
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
'Naruto' live-action film adaptation is in the works
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
NASA Highlights Stingray Nebula
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
Manila's Lagusnilad underpass opens
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
China probes debt-ridden financial giant
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
China's VUCA situation
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
Unraveling the mystery that is diabetes
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
Bangladesh's nuke plant is not going to steal PH investments
OTHER NEWS
ALIW Awards Foundation Inc. President Alice H. Reyes has released the names of finalists for the 2023 Aliw Awards to be presented on Dec. 11, 2023, at the Manila Hotel ...
Read more »
WhatsApp Web gains the feature of single-view photos and videos (Photo: Unsplash) The WhatsApp Web, the desktop version of the popular messaging app from Meta, has received an update allowing ...
Read more »
Young athletes’ time to shine in Siklab Awards MANILA, Philippines — The future heroes of Philippine sports will be honored during the third Siklab Youth Sports Awards on Dec. 4 ...
Read more »
Graphics by Jannielyn Ann Bigtas A local government official said Monday that five to 10 barangays in Northern Samar are still isolated following the massive flooding in the area last ...
Read more »
DyipPay app lets you pay jeepney fare, book tricycles “Barya lang po sa umaga.” Everyone who rides jeepneys knows this rule: it may not be an actual law, but it’s ...
Read more »
Updated In-Season Tournament Bracket ahead of pool play finale Tuesday will mark the last day of pool play for the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament. From there, six first-place teams and ...
Read more »
PCG forms teams for maritime emergency response MANILA, Philippines — Recent incidents of fishermen lost in the waters off Southern Tagalog have prompted the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to form ...
Read more »