San Miguel Beer and NLEX, both undefeated in group play, clash Sunday for the solo lead in the PBA Governors' Cup. June Mar Fajardo backs old teammate Jimmy Alapag's coaching debut.
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MANILA – San Miguel Beer and NLEX meet Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum, both tied for first in Group A of the PBA Season 50 Governors' Cup. The 5:15 p.m. game will decide who takes the solo lead.
San Miguel is coming off a 126-122 win over Converge, where import George King scored 41 points and CJ Perez helped fuel a second-half rally. Converge had started 3-0 before that loss.
NLEX is now coached by Jimmy Alapag, the former Gilas Pilipinas point guard and San Miguel assistant. June Mar Fajardo, SMB's star center, said he is not surprised by the Road Warriors' early success.
“We’ve been together for many years and it wasn’t a surprise for me to see him become a PBA coach,” Fajardo said in Filipino.
Fajardo and Alapag played together on the 2013 Gilas team that finished second at the FIBA Asia championship, qualifying the Philippines for the 2014 FIBA World Cup – the country's first appearance since 1978. Alapag later served on SMB's coaching staff from 2019-2020 before spending three seasons as a player development coach for the Sacramento Kings. He returned to the Philippines this year to take over NLEX.
The main game at 7:30 p.m. features Barangay Ginebra against Rain or Shine. Ginebra beat Blackwater 115-85 in its last outing. The two teams last met in a Commissioner's Cup semifinal, which Ginebra won in six games. Riley Grigsby, Ginebra's import, is filling in for Justin Brownlee, who is recovering from multiple injuries.
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