TNT KaTropa and San Miguel Beer clash in the Petron Blaze road showdown in the PBA Governors Cup elimination round, bringing their stuffs in a crucial match at the Calasiao Sports Center in Calasiao, Pangasinan Saturday.
The Texters and the Beermen face off at 5 p.m. in a showdown between two teams straddling in the middle of the chart but still hoping to salvage a spot in the Top Four at the end of the single-round-robin elims.
Coach Bong Ravena and his TNT troops are sizzling on a three-game run while coach Leo Austria and his SMBeermen are back on the winning track after a vital 117-100 rout of the Phoenix Fuel Masters the last time out.
TNT is at sixth place with an even 4-4 win-loss slate while SMB is a half-game behind at 3-4.
Both are coming into the game fresh from a long breather.
The Beermen will have fresh legs from a weeklong respite while the Texters are off a much longer break, having been idle since a 104-102 squeaker over the NorthPort Batang Pier on Sept. 30.
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That 18-day breather could well be beneficial for the Texters as they are working on a new system under Ravena and new coaching consultant Mark Dickle.
After a three-game romp over the Columbian Dyip, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and the Batang Pier, the Texters are up for a tough test against the Beermen.
The Beermen have regained their bearing the last time out, snapping a three-game losing skein with a 17-point blasting of the Fuel Masters.
"We just showed San Miguel is a playoff team," said Marcio Lassiter, who along with Christian Standhardinger, stepped up to help Kevin Murphy get the team on track.
"San Miguel will be ready when the playoffs come," said Standhardinger, coming through with 29 points and 14 rebounds in a battle with Phoenix super import Eugene Phelps.
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There's an incident between SMB import Kevin Murphy and Phoenix forward Calvin Abueva, and the Beermen were fortunate the PBA Commissioner's Office spared their import of a suspension.
The former Utah Jazz has been on a shooting spree in the local pro league, averaging 36.0 points on top of a rebounding norm of 9.3 and playmaking average of 4.67.
In Calasiao, Murphy faces former Best Import awardee Marqus Blakely who's averaging 24.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists with the Texters.(SB)
