San Miguel Beer knows it will face a tall order neutralizing TNT KaTropa difference maker Terrence Jones as the two teams look to draw first blood in the start of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Tipoff is set at 6:30 p.m. with the Beermen hoping to come up with a strategy against Jones, whose all-around plays propelled the KaTropa to their first finals appearance since the 2017 edition of the midseason tournament.
Jones poses major problems for SMB with his ability to not only score at will but also involving his teammates.
“Terrence Jones is really strong for a position of one to five (point guard to center), nobody could match up his ability. Nobody, for me,” admitted SMB coach Leo Austria. “That’s why it’s very tough for us to prepare a gameplan against them.”
The Beermen do have import Chris McCullough, whose explosiveness on offense helped them overcome a 2-5 record in the eliminations to reach the finals for the ninth time in 14 conferences under Austria.
The matchup between two former NBA players is something fans are looking forward in the series pitting the flagship franchises of San Miguel Corporation and Manny V. Pangilinan.
“Let’s play basketball,” McCullough said when asked of his much-awaited showdown with Jones.
Local production, however, may play the determining factor in the series with TNT banking on Jayson Castro, Troy Rosario, Roger Pogoy, Brian Heruela and Don Trollano to build on their splendid plays against Barangay Ginebra in the semis.
San Miguel, on the other hand, can only hope that it can shrug off the inconsistent showings of the locals during its hard-fought semis triumph over Rain or Shine.
June Mar Fajardo struggled for most of the series while Chris Ross and Arwind Santos had their share of inconsistencies.
Alex Cabagnot and Christian Standhardinger did emerge as among the team’s most productive players, something SMB would like to see moving forward.
The series will also several players facing their former teams for the conference’s grand prize.
SMB’s Terrence Romeo takes on his former team for the first time in the Finals while TNT’s Heruela was part of four Beermen title squads. (JONAS TERRADO)
