Shortly after sustaining an ACL injury, JM Calma signed a two-year contract extension with NorthPort.

About a month after having surgery for a left knee injury he sustained during Batang Pier’s 95-88 loss to Barangay Ginebra on April 14 during the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup eliminations at Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Calma was awarded a new contract over the weekend.

When the sad occurrence occurred, the 6-foot-6 San Sebastian native was enjoying a breakthrough season for NorthPort.

When he suffered an injury, Calma was a starter for the Batang Pier, who selected him with the sixth overall pick in the previous draft two years ago, averaging 8.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists.

Calma is now recovering and might return for the winning team around the end of Season 49.

Amores’s story of redemption goes on

The team also signed John Amores for a two-year agreement in addition to Calma.

In the most recent rookie selection, NorthPort selected the former two-way guard from Jose Rizal University in the fifth round, and he signed a one-year contract.

Due to Amores’s perseverance and commitment to growing both as a player and a person following his contentious release from the Heavy Bombers and the NCAA, management chose to modify his contract before it was set to expire in October.

In his debut season, he scored 4.2 points and pulled down 1.2 rebounds.

Calma and Amores are among the players that Batang Pier management has just renewed, along with Paul Zamar, Kris Rosales, and Ben Adamos.

Coach Bonnie Tan, team manager Pido Jarencio, deputy team manager Waiyip Chong, and Representatives Marvin Espiritu for Calma and Louie Gonzalez for Amores joined them for the contract signing.

On the other hand, at the conclusion of Sunday’s matchup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum, Game Three of the PBA 48th Season Philippine Cup finals would either see Meralco regaining the lead in the series or San Miguel taking the lead.

With 22 seconds left, the Beermen overcame a four-point deficit to defeat the Bolts 95-94, stealing Game Two from Meralco. Meralco would have had a 2-0 series lead, but going into Sunday, they are now tied at one.

Remaining composed

Meralco would have won Game Two, but San Miguel’s maturity was evident in the closing minutes, when dagger threes were made by Marcio Lassiter and CJ Perez. In order to move forward in the series, San Miguel needs to keep leveraging their title expertise. Conversely, Meralco needs to maintain composure and not let the close Game Two victory get to them.

Preventing CJ Perez at the outset of the game

With 34 points on Friday, including a three-pointer that sealed San Miguel’s dramatic victory in Game Two, CJ Perez showed signs of recovery. With eight points in the first quarter and twelve in the second, Perez established his rhythm early in the game. Meralco has to stop this if they hope to win Game Three.

Managing the speed

In addition to controlling the paint, which is one of its strong points, San Miguel also dominated the floor, which is more the kind of game where Meralco does well. The Beermen scored more baskets in the paint (50–48), fastbreak points (20–12), and points off turnovers (26–18). Again, one of the keys to winning Game Three will be to play at their tempo.

Almazan Dirty Problems

In Game Two, Raymond Almazan did not play a role. He barely played 13 minutes and had two early fouls. To assist in protecting June Mar Fajardo, he needs to play more minutes.

Quinto and Newsome must bounce back

Chris Newsome and Bong Quinto combined for just 6-of-21 last Friday in a game they could still have won, after they had combined for 14-of-27 in Game One. For San Miguel to have any hope of winning Game Three, they will need to contain the two once more.