Petron Blaze Boosters Basketball Updates

Photo Credit: PBA.ph

The San Miguel Beermen puts its 4-game winning streak against the scrappy Red Bull Barakos for a chance to grab solo leadership in the 2008-2009 KFC PBA Philippine Cup today at 5:00 pm in an out-of-town game in Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental.

For the Beermen to win this game, they should not let the Barakos to control the boards. Even though lacking in size, the Barakos has been one of the top basketball teams in terms of rebounding. Rebounding is not about size but the desire to grab the ball at the right time. Once the board is controlled, San Miguel can fuel its run-and-gun basketball plays.

Height is the main advantage of the Beermen against the Barakos so expect the bigmen of the Beermen to pound it inside and collect fouls of Red Bull’s bigmen as a bonus.

And finally, as with every game, defense is really the key. If it so happens that the Beermen’s offensive jaugernaut does not click, defense can save the day for them.

There’s also one thing that the San Miguel Beermen should not do prior to this game. And that is to take the Red Bull Barakos lightly and underestimate them. GMANews.TV tells us why.

Red Bull road tests streaking San Miguel
October 25, 2008

After stopping Barangay Ginebra on its track and dealing the team its first loss in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup, Red Bull tries its hand on another team who’s on the winning run.

Fresh from a 100-94 victory against the Kings, the Bulls take on the streaking San Miguel Beermen in an out-of-town game Saturday in Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental.

That big win by the Bulls was their first in the season-opening conference after losing three in a row.

It also gives the team the confidence and morale it needed opposite a San Miguel side which has won four in a row since losing its initial assignment against league leader Alaska.

“Finally, nanalo na ang team ng barya-barya lang at uhugin (The scrappy team finally won),” said Red Bull mentor Yeng Guiao moments after downing Ginebra. “We’re still learning. With five newcomers, kailangan pa namin ng time for adjustments (We still need time to adjust our game). But I think we can get there and make good account of ourselves. Our goal is to improve every game, win or lose.”

Ironically, San Miguel is also coming off a big win over Ginebra, a 118-89 rout last Wednesday.

The out-of-town game will be the last for the league this month. The tournament goes back on the road on November 8 with a doubleheader in Lucena City featuring Rain or Shine versus Air21 and Ginebra against Coca-Cola.

My prediction for this game? Of course a win by the San Miguel Beermen and a 5-1 solo leadership in the team standings. Go Beermen! Crash the Barakos!