GlobalPort seeks No. 3 vs San Miguel Beer

Arwind Santos of San Miguel (light) vs Stanley Pringle of Globalport (dark). NUKI SABIO

THREE teams sharing second place in the Oppo PBA Philippine Cup eliminations see action Friday, with GlobalPort having the toughest assignment among them as it clashes with powerhouse San Miguel Beer at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

The Batang Pier put their two-game winning streak on the line in their 7 p.m. clash with the Beermen, who got a rude wakeup call in their debut last Saturday after a shock loss to Mahindra in Biñan, Laguna.

The Enforcers seek a followup to that impressive conquest against Al Thornton and the NLEX Road Warriors in the 4:15 p.m. contest, each seeking a win to move within half a game of league-leading Meralco.

Tyler Wilkerson had a respectable debut for the Beermen at Alonte Sports Center with 29 points but the local core of San Miguel, which won the Philippine Cup less than a month ago, showed some signs of rustiness.

It was a debut coach Leo Austria was hoping to avoid. Last season the Beermen lost games in strings and never got into contention for the year’s second jewel.

And the Beermen must be on their toes against the Batang Pier, who boast the most explosive, most athletic backcourt in the league in Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle.

The duo did most of the damage in the last two games for the Batang Pier, with Romeo firing 41 points, a conference-high for locals, and Pringle always ready to explode whenever his backcourt mate slows down.

And the good thing about the GlobalPort team is that everyone else is willing to take a step back and do whatever it takes for its guards to dominate, unless called upon by the situation.

Mahindra, meanwhile, will try to show that stopping San Miguel the last time out was no fluke as the Enforcers try to hold down the prolific Thornton and the Road Warriors.

Kenny Adeleke is playing well for Mahindra inside the paint, but against the Road Warriors, he will have his hands full against Thornton and Asi Taulava, who continues to defy Father Time.

Coach Boyet Fernandez is getting contributions all around at NLEX, with Jonas Villanueva stepping up to be the reliable outside sniper it needs and its role players contributing well to take the team to 2-1.

And there’s Thornton, still not 100 percent healthy but who is giving it his all each time.

Thornton is a big matchup problem for any team despite being a tad slower because of his knee problems, as he can drive to the basket, shoot from long range and even post up a smaller man.