Bennie Boatwright is all set for his much-awaited PBA return when San Miguel challenges NLEX in an attempt to get out of a rare slump in the Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Much of the focus will be on the naturalization candidate as he reprises the role he took in the same conference back in the 2023-24 tilt, which concluded with the Beermen winning the championship by beating Magnolia in six.
But the traditional powerhouse wouldn’t want to reminisce that much with their sights set on nothing else but aligning their ongoing campaign back on track as they’re in the midst of a quite uncharacteristic two-game losing skid.
After winning back-to-back against Macau and Ginebra, SMB bowed to current leaders Rain or Shine narrowly and then got blown out by Magnolia, in which they played with an all-local unit after Justin Patton went AWOL.
Their situation with the “unprofessional” former NBA big man prompted team manager Gee Abanilla to call Boatwright for help, and the 6-foot-10 winger wouldn’t take that long to go back to Manila and rejoin his former team.
“Because of what happened, I was forced to get in touch right away with Bennie,” Abanila said after their loss to the Hotshots last Sunday.
Of course, the Beermen are hoping that there would be renewed confidence within their camp following the reunion, and even the Casino Plus sportsbook has actually gone in their favor following this development.
San Miguel is seen to take down the Road Warriors by -5.0 points. The over/under in total points scored, meanwhile, is set at 208.5.
Bets can be made here: https://www.casinoplus.com.ph/home/inGame?name=basketball&title=SportBet.
However, it would be easier said than done, as Coach Leo Austria and his men will be going up against one of the league’s hottest teams today.
NLEX is coming into the 5:15 p.m. bout buoyed by a four-game winning streak, with their most recent triumph a 104-101 overtime decision against Meralco in which rookie L-Jay Gonzales buried the game-winning trey at the buzzer.
That win–which they pulled off even after head coach Jong Uichico got ejected early–not only stretched their winning run, but also enabled the crew to seize solo second with a 6-1 record, sitting just behind the 7-0 Elasto Painters.
“It’s a big win for us, especially since we’re going up against San Miguel,” said lead deputy Borgie Hermida, who stepped in for the champion mentor versus the Botls. “So kailangan, mataas ang kumpiyansa namin pagdating sa Sunday.”
Taking the floor in the 7:30 p.m. nightcap would be Magnolia and Converge in a clash of teams looking to carry over the momentum from their previous wins.
The Hotshots are coming off a 120-102 beatdown of San Miguel as mentioned, and the target is building another winning streak after their bid of winning three straight got spoiled by RJ Abarrientos and Ginebra last April 10.
But standing in their way is a FiberXers team that’s regained some tinge of confidence after ending a five-game losing skid through a 103-82 rout of a struggling Titan Ultra last Wednesday–under the same Ynares Center lights.
Mental edge is also in favor of Coach Delta Pineda & Co. It could be recalled that the team crushed Magnolia in their Season 50 Philippine Cup elimination round encounter last December, 114-97, coincidentally in Antipolo as well.
According to the Casino Plus sportsbook, though, Magnolia is seen to come out victorious by -5.5 points, with the over/under in total points set at 199.0.
