Meralco Bolts vs Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Prediction & Betting Tips - PBA, Governors Cup

Prediction published on 07/04/2022, 11:47  by Joseph King | Modified on 07/04/2022 at 18:48 in Basketball Predictions

Game two of the PBA Governors’ Cup finals tips off on Friday as the Meralco Bolts look to take a commanding 2-0 lead over Barangay Ginebra in this best-of-seven series. The Bolts took home a huge game one win with a score of 104-91 as they look to exercise the demon that has been Barangay Ginebra who have beaten them out in three Governors’ Cup finals over the past four years. The tide could finally be changing to Meralco however, as their performance in game one was that of a more disciplined and better drilled team. The game was decided in the second and third quarters, where the Bolts outscored the Gin Kings 28-19 and 25-17, respectively, to enter the fourth quarter with an insurmountable 78-60 lead. Barangay Ginebra will look to respond with a strong performance in game two and have been no strangers to adversary this playoff run, entering as the sixth seed and having to overcome the early “once to lose, two to win” disadvantage in their first playoff round.

A key to this series will be the availability of Ginebra forward Japeth Aguilar. The MVP of last year's finals, Aguilar went down in the semi finals against NLEX. He’s listed as day-to-day but is expected to return sometime in the middle of the series and it’s likely he won’t be ready for this one. His absence was notable in the game one loss as the Gin Kings really missed his 6’9 frame as a defensive presence inside and to help battle for rebounds, further evidenced by Meralco out-rebounding Ginebra 48-44. The Bolts have a golden opportunity here to take full advantage of Aguilar’s absence if they can continue to execute the same way that they did in game one. It won’t be easy as Ginebra has a winning pedigree, but this Bolts team looks like they are ready to get the monkey off their back and finally break through.