Five-peat Philippine Cup champ San Miguel Beer, after a 19-day breather, returns into action Wednesday versus NorthPort, bringing back champion import Charles Rhodes in a bid to reclaim the crown in the PBA Commissioner's Cup.
The Beermen and Rhodes made a successful title run in the midseason tourney in 2017, and they hope to win back the crown captured by the Barangay Ginebra Kings last season.
First up for the Beermen are the Batang Pier that are off to a strong start in the tourney with import Prince Ibeh.
The Batang Pier had won their first three games over the Alaska Milk Aces (103-81), the NLEX Road Warriors (83-79) and the TNT KaTropa (110-86) before suffering a first loss against the Gin Kings (70-73).
The Beermen and the Batang Pier clash at 7 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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Coach Leo Austria and his troops will be back on the floor for the first time since winning a fifth straight all-Filipino diadem on a come-from-behind 72-71 win over the Magnolia Hotshots in a winner-take-all setto on May 15.
Souping up the champion team is Rhodes, who feels he has an unfinished business in the league on his absence in their title defense last year.
The Beermen settled for second place with Renaldo Balkman, bowing to the Gin Kings, 2-4, in the best-of-seven title playoff.
NorthPort, meanwhile, barely made the playoffs and lost to Rain or Shine in their quarterfinals matchup.
But the Batang Pier ooze with confidence on their strong start with Ibeh who complements well the games of Sean Anthony, Stanley Pringle, Moala Tautuaa and Robert Bolick.
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Ibeh and his teammates had a shot at a fourth straight win but were foiled by clutch hits by Justin Brownlee at endgame.
Brownlee spiked his 32-point game with a timely basket and a booming trey that gave the Kings a three-point cushion en route to a second consecutive triumph.
The Batang Pier had three chances in the final 36 seconds to force overtime but Anthony and Garvo Lanete couldn't find the mark, leading to their first setback in the tourney.(SB)
