Petron tries to fuel win run, faces SMC

JUNEMAR Fajardo of Petron (left) faces San Mig Coffee again, this time without having to deal with imports like Marqus Blakely. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Petron Blaze, playing fluid basketball thus far, shoots for a third straight win while trying to pin a third consecutive defeat on San Mig Coffee that would push the Mixers deeper in the PLDT MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup cellar today at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Game time is 8 p.m. with everything favoring the Boosters, who have ran roughshod over their first two foes.

Meralco and Air21 shoot for their first win at each other’s expense at 5:45 p.m.

It’s a surprise that the Mixers are one of three winless teams in the young tournament and coach Tim Cone must find people to step up in lieu of the injured Peter June Simon and Joe Devance if they are to avoid taking another beating.

Petron is also shorthanded with Alex Cabagnot out of its first two games. But their difference with the Mixers is that the Boosters have gotten able performances from backup point guard Chris Ross and Paolo Hubalde.

Cabagnot is nursing an injured plantar fascia. Simon has been out because of a bruised Achilles tendon while Devance is resting a leg injury.

This will be the first clash between the two powerhouses since San Mig won Game 7 of their Governors’ Cup championship series late last month.

And with no import around, June Mar Fajardo can throw his weight inside the shaded lane and make life hard for the likes of Yancy de Ocampo and Marc Pingris.

Fajardo is a tough man to handle because of his agility and his size. At 6-feet-9 inches and built like a truck, the Gilas Pilipinas reserve can muscle his way past defenders and has exhibited a knack to pass out of double teams.

Arwind Santos, the reigning MVP, will be coming off a spectacular effort the last time, while Chris Lutz and Marcio Lassiter will again be there to create match-up problems at the forward positions.

James Yap, the former two-time MVP, is also struggling.

He would need to come up big today to plug the hole created by the absence of Simon, the Mixers’ most reliable man off the bench and the one who almost always steps up when Yap is out of synch.