WHICH TEAMS WILL ADVANCE TO THE NEXT ROUND?
The PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals is set to commence on Wednesday, December 12. After an exciting two months of battle, things will get even rowdier as we enter the playoff stages of the conference.
Let’s take a look at the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinal matchups.
(1) Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters vs. (8) Air21 Express
The Talk N’ Text Tropang Texters once again find themselves on top of the standings with a 12-2 card at eliminations end. In the previous year, the Texters won the Philippine Cup championship, and it seems they want to win it again this season. But Coach Norman Black’s troops will have to dispatch Air 21 first to do that. The Express boast of an offense that heavily relies on the services of Nino Canaleta and Mike Cortez. Their bench is weak and will likely have a tough time keeping up with TNT’s reserves. Air 21 is young and inexperienced, factors that I think will pose problems for them in going up against a tested and solid, well-oiled Talk N’ Text squad. If the Express can control the tempo, they might have a chance. But I doubt it.
Forecast: Talk N’ Text
(2) San Mig Coffee Mixers vs. (7) Petron Blaze Boosters
San Mig Coffee and Petron. This series has “upset” written all over it. Though they’re only a seventh seed, the Boosters mustn’t be overlooked. They’ve got a stat monster in Arwind Santos and a very capable point guard in Alex Cabagnot. Plus, Chris Lutz and Marcio Lassiter’s athleticism and pesky style of play can dent the Mixers’ defense. So yes, this team is loaded. Petron can space the floor well and their guards are good at running the fastbreak – even their big men can get up and down the court. The Boosters have more depth than the Mixers with the likes of Lutz, Jay Washington and Dennis Miranda providing offense off the bench. Aside from James Yap and Peter Jun Simon, I don’t think anyone else from San Mig Coffee is capable of exploding.
Forecast: Petron
(3) Rain or Shine Elasto Painters vs. (6) Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings
Just like the Mixers-Boosters matchup, this will be a crowd-pleasing, pants-wetting series. In their last recent duel, Barangay Ginebra rallied back from an 18-point deficit to beat the Elasto Painters, much to the delight of the crowd. In order for Rain or Shine to advance to the semis, they will need to take advantage of their physicality - their frontline should bully Ginebra in the post. And they’ll need to win the rebounding battle since they were outdone on the boards in both losses to BGSM. Chris Tiu and Paul Lee will definitely provide Rain or Shine more firepower so Ginebra’s backcourt of LA Tenorio and JayJay Helterbrand will need to stay on their toes on defense as well. The x-factor in this series is Jeff Chan. If Chan clicks on all cylinders, Ginebra could bow out early in the playoffs.
Forecast: Rain or Shine, 2-1
(4) Meralco Bolts vs. (5) Alaska Aces
Based on their two Philippine Cup meetings, Meralco and Alaska look evenly matched. Sol Mercado, Mark Cardona, and Cliff Hodge vs. JVee Casio, Cyrus Baguio, and Calvin Abueva. The backcourt production of both squads will most likely cancel each other out. One thing that should be looked at is the battle in the post. Whichever team’s frontline can perform better will have the advantage in this series. Mercado has been playing lights out this conference and it would be fitting for him to lead the Bolts to a semifinals berth, but I think fans would rather see Abueva in the next round.
Forecast: Alaska, 2-1
Source: http://www.solarsportsdesk.ph/bk/bkfeatures/2012/12/10/pba-philippine-cup-quarterfinals-preview
