San Mig battles Star in Easter Sunday duel

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Cup champ San Miguel Beer, major contenders Star and Meralco, and a Blackwater side coming off a breakthrough win slug it out in an interesting Easter Sunday twinbill of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.

The Beermen, the only remaining unbeaten team in the mid-season tourney, go for a third straight win versus a dangerous opponent in the Star Hotshots at 6:45 p.m., after the 4:30 p.m. tussle between the Meralco Bolts and the Blackwater Elite.

Special treats are in store for kids in this special play date.

“I am inviting everyone to come and join us in celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have lined up various activities to all our patrons, especially for the kids. And we have two good games that will surely complete your fun Sunday,” said PBA commissioner Chito Narvasa.

Cotton candies will be handed out to kids while limited edition of “We Are PBA” shirts will be tossed to the crowd. At the Big Dome Red Gate, kids can take a “selfie” with their favorite movie characters such as Optimus Prime, the Minions and Star Wars. Easter Bunny standees will also be on display for photo-ops.

June Mar Fajardo and his teammates stake their perfect slate against the Star Hotshots who are aching to bounce back from a first loss at the hands of the Barangay Ginebra Kings.

The Hotshots won their first four outings against the Phoenix Fuel Masters (101-82), the GlobalPort Batang Pier (103-77), the NLEX Road Warriors (105-103) and the Mahindra Floodbuster (97-83) before being halted by the Gin Kings (98-113).

Star coach Chito Victolero is confident they can compete with the Beermen.

“Beating San Miguel is tough but I think we’ll have a good chance if we play hard together and have the proper mindset going into the game,” said Victolero. “It could well be another grind-out game, and we need to play our A-game, stay focused and execute on both ends for 48 minutes.”

The Beermen have been on a run from their Philippine Cup title conquest. They’re off to a winning start in the Commissioner’s Cup with a 99-92 drubbing of the Meralco Bolts and a 110-88 rout of the Fuel Masters.

The Bolts are also bracing for a battle in their game against the Elite.

“Blackwater has been playing good basketball this conference so we must prepare well and avoid any type of letdown,” said Black.

Blackwater is in the bottom four in the team standings but is upbeat coming from a breakthrough triumph over GlobalPort.

“We will be aiming for back-to-back. We hope that our victory versus GlobalPort last week will boost our morale and confidence,” said Blackwater coach Leo Isaac.

The Meralco-Blackwater match will feature a topnotch matchup between two high-quality imports.