SAN Miguel and Barangay Ginebra start their semifinal series in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup on Wednesday. The two teams under the San Miguel Corp. umbrella meet again with the stakes high as a finals spot is on the line.

Serving as a preview of the series, here’s some burning questions that will be answered after the semifinals is done.

San Miguel and Barangay Ginebra renew their playoff tussle after their paths failed to cross in the 2024 Philippine Cup. In their last two clashes, however, both ended in sweeps with Barangay Ginebra winning, 3-0, in the 2023 Governors’ Cup, and San Miguel, led by Bennie Boatwright, getting a measure of revenge by also sweeping the 2024 Philippine Cup in a best-of-five affair.

Barangay Ginebra is in for a tough challenge in the paint against San Miguel especially after June Mar Fajardo dominated in Game Five of the Governors’ Cup quarterfinals against Converge with a 40-point, 24-rebound night. The biggest difference from the two previous series is the Gin Kings no longer have Christian Standhardinger, one big body that Ginebra used to put on the eight-time MVP. Japeth Aguilar will once again match up with Fajardo, but the absence of Isaac Go will leave Joe Devance and even Raymond Aguilar the task of defending the SMB big man.

Coming out of retirement in time for the playoff run, the 42-year-old Devance could be in line for major playing time to put a big body on Fajardo in the series.

Fajardo has been nothing but dominant in the playoffs so far, averaging 21.8 points and 18.4 rebounds during the five-game series against Converge where he had to deal with Justin Arana. His Game Five performance allowed San Miguel to also score 64 points in the paint, a statistical category that it led in the eliminations.

Perhaps surprising to some, San Miguel was taken to the limit by Converge, despite already being up, 2-0, in the quarterfinal series. The Beermen finally put the FiberXers away via a 109-105 win in Game Five last Sunday. Even with a stacked line-up, SMB had a shaky quarterfinal campaign that saw the Beermen squander a 27-point lead in Game Three, which was also marred by a verbal spat between San Miguel consultant Leo Austria and playing assistant coach Chris Ross.

The quarterfinal series could be a turning point, either for the better or for the worse for the Beermen.

Will the defenders be the unsung heroes of the series?

Both teams are equipped with fine offensive weapons so the defenders will definitely play a role in the series.

For Barangay Ginebra, Stephen Holt’s ability to play defense, especially against the imports regardless of position, have been on display under head coach Tim Cone, so don’t be surprised if he will be tasked to defend Beermen import EJ Anosike in the series.

San Miguel has its own defenders as well led by CJ Perez, who leads his team in steals with 1.2 during the eliminations, and 1.6 in the quarterfinals. Seven-time All-Defensive Team member Chris Ross is still very capable, and Jericho Cruz also helped out especially in Game Five when he had four, while Kris Rosales has also emerged as a tough defender as well, averaging 1.4 steals in the quarterfinals.

RJ Abarrientos had a solid showing in his first playoff series in the PBA with averages of 12 points, 2.3 rebounds, and four assists in the quarterfinals against Meralco, and finishing with 17 points, six rebounds, and six assists in the series-clinching Game Three against the Bolts. As Ginebra moves on to the semifinals, Abarrientos, who has become Ginebra’s primary ball carrier after being drafted No. 3 this season, will once again play a crucial role against San Miguel.

What are we going to see from Scottie Thompson and CJ Perez in the semis?

The play of Scottie Thompson and CJ Perez in the semifinals could play a factor in their respective team’s chances of progressing this conference.

The last time Thompson played in the semifinals, he was dealing with a back injury, and it showed in the statistics. Against Meralco during the 2024 Philippine Cup semifinals, Thompson had 9.7 points and 7.6 rebounds in the seven-game series, with his numbers rising after stellar performances in the last two matches. It seems like the injury is now history for Thompson, and playing much better, especially in scoring, during this season’s Governors’ Cup with averages of 18 points and five rebounds against Meralco. His rise in play from last conference’s playoffs is certainly welcome news for Ginebra.

As for Perez, he had an excellent showing in the semifinals of the 2024 Philippine Cup when he averaged 20.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 1.8 steals against Rain or Shine. Perez remains solid in rebounding (5.5) and steals (1.2) during this conference’s quarterfinals, but his scoring is down from 20.5 points in the eliminations to 12.0 in the quarterfinals. While Perez is playing well in other categories, San Miguel might still need his scoring for it to overcome Barangay Ginebra.

Justin Brownlee’s return to the PBA playoffs started with a ban as Ginebra swept Meralco in the quarterfinals highlighted by a game-winning Brownlee three-pointer over Allen Durham in Game Two. As you know, Brownlee is making a comeback in the PBA playoffs after being out of action due to his suspension from his positive doping test during last year’s Asian Games.

Ginebra could be playing with a chip on its shoulder. Brownlee and Ginebra are definitely eager to return to the championship after losing to TNT in the 2023 Governors’ Cup, the first and only time that Brownlee lost in the PBA finals. Their ouster via 3-0 by San Miguel in last season’s Commissioner’s Cup was without Brownlee, and Ginebra could be out to atone for that rare sweep. It is now for San Miguel to avoid ‘Magic Brownlee’ from happening again.