PBA: Governor's Cup | NorthPort vs San Miguel | 15 February, 5:45 PM (PST)

[Mary C]

PBA Governor's Cup 2023

 

NorthPort Batang Pier vs San Miguel BeerMen

San Miguel Beer plays NorthPort in the PBA Governors' Cup on Wednesday at the MOA Arena in Pasay City, hoping to bounce back quickly from a defeat on Saturday. The Beermen are determined to get back on track as soon as possible as they prepare for a challenging matchup with titleholder Barangay Ginebra on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The Beermen are still stinging from their 107-103 loss to the Converge FiberXers. The main objective is to maintain the lead in the competition for the Top Four teams, who will benefit from a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals. 

Coach Jorge Gallent of San Miguel said after the defeat that brought them to a tie with the FiberXers and the TNT Tropang Giga at 5-1, "We have to bounce back, yan ang pinaka-importante." Ginebra is currently 3-1. Gallent said, "We're still tied for No. 1. We have to move up again. We have to learn from our mistakes against Converge. We must improve our defense as a result of the numerous fouls we committed and the 21 free throws we allowed in the fourth quarter, according to Gallent. Up until that defeat to Converge, when their star player June Mar Fajardo was forced to leave the game early due to fouls, the Beermen were undefeated under their new bench boss. 

The NorthPort team is winless in its last five games under new coach Boni Tan, and Fajardo and his teammates are determined to halt the slide. Despite 30 points from Robert Bolick, who returned from injury, and 38 points from new import Kevin Murphy, the Batang Pier's woes persisted as the Gin Kings defeated them 115-100 on Friday. Murphy and company made a strong start, but they were unable to keep up as the Kings unleashed a second-half 36-point avalanche and continued to dominate in the second half.