Meralco vs SMB plagued by injuries in knockout match

Meralco tries to do the unthinkable to end the five-year reign of the PBA Philippine Cup of San Miguel Beer on Sunday when they meet for a place in the semifinals in their quarter-final match of life or death at the Cultural Center. and Deportivo from the University of Angeles Foundation.

Tipoff is scheduled at 6:45 pm with the winner extending his stay at the Smart Clark Giga City bubble and taking on top seed Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in a best-of-five semifinal match that begins Wednesday.

Geneva booked a spot in the semifinals on Friday night after beating eighth seed Rain or Shine, 81-73.

The Bolts, led primarily by Reynel Hugnatan and rookie guard Aaron Black, forced a win or go home situation after prevailing, 78-71, over the Beermen who missed guard Alex Cabagnot.

Coach Norman Black said victory and San Miguel’s situation are no guarantee that Meralco will have an advantage.

“The only thing to respect with San Miguel is that they have been so good for so long and have experience,” Black said. “They’re missing some players right now, but they have key players on the court, so you can’t let your guard down and you have to go out there and play hard every minute on the court.”

SMB missed Cabagnot very much in the opening match due to the strain on his hamstring, the last player to be affected by the injury even before the bubble.

Chris Ross and Marcio Lassiter, who are dealing with ailments, played but couldn’t resolve the Beermen’s 5-of-32 clip from three-point territory.

On the side, Meralco received timely shots from Hugnatan and Black to seal the victory, typifying why the two emerged as the Bolts’ top scorers. Hugnatan was 16, while Black was 14 to continue his strong freshman campaign.

But the Bolts understand that Chris Newsome, Baser Amer, Allein Maliksi and Raymond Almazan, as long as his knee doesn’t have any issues preventing him from playing, they will need to show their A game if they want to upset SMB.

Mo Tautuaa and Arwind Santos, the Beermen’s most consistent players in the bubble, are expected to provide offensive production, while role-players Von Pessumal, Paul Zamar and Russell Escoto will also be tasked with stepping up.