Into the PBA Philippine Cup Quarters

Too many guns for TNT vs Air21

Talk 'n' Text vs Air21
No matter how great Air21 has looked the previous matches since the acquisition of point laureate Mike Cortez (and the renewed love-fest with coach Franz Pumaren), there is no denying Talk 'n' Text of advancing to the next round. Jayson Castro, Jimmy Alapag and Ryan Reyes all look healthy (okay, still waiting for Alapag who looks to be hurt in tonight's match vs Ginebra) and then there's Ranidel de Ocampo doing his thing. And if those guys aren't enough, there's still the steady Kelly Williams, Larry Fonacier, Jarred Dillinger and Ali Peek all ready, willing and able to take over. Nino Canaleta's having the time of his life looking like an all star out there, but his 5 minutes of fame will be and are up.

Fearless Forecast: TNT

Different jerseys, same crucial match-up

San Mig Coffee vs Petron Blaze
Until Petron head coach Olsen Racela realizes that Alex Cabagnot is not even a third of the winner he is/was, look for their team to be toyed upon by San Mig Coffee. Really, outside of TNT, there's no better team with a better and more effective system than that of SMC's led by Hall of Famer Tim Cone. Petron has the guys to lock James Yap and PJ Simon in Arwind Santos, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Lutz, yes, but they just don't know how to play together. Interesting match-up would be Joe DeVance vs Jay Washington-- two of the league's more over-rated forwards going head to head. Oh, and school's going to be in session for June Mar "The Kraken" Fajardo when he meets Yancy "The Postman" a.k.a. "Elbows Out" de Ocampo.

Fearless Forecast: SMC

Rain or Shine vs Barangay Ginebra

Chris Tiu's (growing) fanbase
vs The Barangay

Love that Elmer Espiritu is getting love at the forward spot and starting for the Kings. Love that Mark Caguioa, rumored to be ailing, is looking like his usual self. Love that Jayjay Helterbrand has finally found his groove back. BUT, in a short series where adjustments are crucial, RoS' Yeng Guiao will make Ginebra's Siot Tangquincen look like a dunce. Really, why, oh why, has San Miguel management never considered getting Yeng Guiao-- tailor fit for Ginebra and their stacked line-up today and years ago-- as their head coach? Don't look for Extra Rice, Inc. to be too physical with Ginebra, those guys have gone on record to say that Billy Mamaril et. al. are their homeboys from way back. The thing here is, Ginebra's won over RoS this conference-- but RoS was missing either Paul Lee, Chris Tiu or Jireh Ybanes. Well, those guys are back. Ybanes is going to make it tough for Caguioa. Lee's slashing ways has always been a thorn on Ginebra's side since last season. And Chris Tiu's growing fanbase will make the cheers/jeers more interesting.

Fearless Forecast: RoS

Hodge vs Abueva: Explosive!

Meralco vs Alaska
Clifford Hodge vs Calvin Abueva. Captain Hook vs J-Shock. Ryan Gregorio vs Luigi Trillo. Sol Mercado vs mid-range jumpshots. Oh it's going to be a pretty one. The biggest difference here is that, Meralco just doesn't have that imposing presence down low that could swing things in their favor. Not to say that Alaska's Sonny Thoss is going to put up 20 and 10s, but he will be a presence in the paint while Meralco's answer would be the softie JayR Reyes who appears to have learned nothing from his SMART Gilas stint. From a "winning" standpoint, Alaska has all the guys that spell "win" while Meralco-- with their dribble drive offense, will depend solely on Mercado's effectivity all throughout. You know what's really interesting here is, if Coach Luigi decides on a cross match that would send The Beast to cover The Sol Train. Oh my.

Fearless Forecast: Ala