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| Hand on the ass, eyes on the prize |
Man for man, the Tigers actually boast of sufficient personnel to challenge the heavily-favored and somewhat over-achieving Llamados. PGs Jayvee Casio and Rudy Lingganay are good enough to keep in step with Josh Urbiztondo and Andy Barroca. SG Gary David edges PJ Simon as far as being clutch is concerned but both are up there in the league's best scorers, SF Marcio Lassiter has enough "swag" to keep in step with 2x MVP James Yap-- and even make the Escalente native work on the defensive end. Sean Anthony's energy, though not as defensively skilled as Marc Pingris, is acceptable enough. Personally, this series is where the Llamados' Kerby Raymundo will shine the brightest. I don't expect him to pull down double doubles, but the Tigers don't have anyone well-equipped to handle Raymundo in the shaded area. The Tigers have Doug Kramer, Rommel Adducul and Alex Crisano-- but most of them are traditional bangers and are a step or two slower than the one time National Player. And oh, Tim Cone vs Bo Perasol. Really? Really.
Prediction: Llamados
Must see TV: Casio vs Barroca, Lassiter vs Yap, Pingris' french swag vs Crisano's tattoos, Baby James on the sidelines and Quinito Henson talking about the younger Yap's keen fashion sense
Talk n Text Tropang Texters (2) vs Barako Bull Energy (7)
I smell an upset and maybe Texters fans will crucify me for this, but the Bulls are in good shape to win two games over their qfinals opponent. The Energy, comprised mostly of savvy veterans who may coast for a game or two during the eliminations, know how to win in big games. They have the talent, and most of all, are healthy enough to overtake the injury-plagued Texters. While I would never doubt the heart of a proud champion (which the Texters are), if Jayson Castro, Ryan Reyes, Jimmy Alapag all sit out or are not at 100% , I don't see how Willie Miller, Danny Seigle, Dorian Pena and Mick Pennisi would allow the golden opportunity to give their old teams a big FU by moving on to the next round slip from their fingertips.
Prediction: Energy
Must see TV: Japeth Aguilar looking like Dorian Pena's b*tch on the rebounding end (if you want to be the man, you have to beat the man. This is where having Harvey Carey down in the block pays dividends)
Petron Blaze Boosters (3) vs Meralco (6)
Arwind Santos vs Gabby Espinas. I've been repeatedly stressing how, there was once a time when Espinas was deemed better than Santos. Yes, Santos was doing amazing things with the FEU Tamaraws even back in the day, but Espinas was down right BEASTING the opposition in such a way that San Beda had to resort to getting a 6"7 Nigerian to shut this guy down and prevent him from grabbing rebounds in a taller, black Calvin Abueva kind of way. But then, things didn't work out as well for Espinas in the pros while Santos flourished with his all around game. This series could be the opening Espinas needs to get back into the basketball limelight. Do I see the Bolts pulling off an upset over the Boosters? Not really, but they will give them problems as this team, as disorganized and isolation heavy as it may be from time to time, matches up well with Coach Ato's boys. Also, all bets are off when Sol Mercado's jumpers are falling and if he starts kamikaze driving his way to the rim.
Prediction: Boosters
Must see TV: Mac Cardona vs the Petron faithful, Sol Mercado vs Chris Lutz, Asi vs Demolition Man, Alex Cabagnot vs a bad hair day
Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings (4) vs Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (5)
Wow. Talk about a battle for the ages- the Gin Kings versus the 2011 version of coach Yeng Guiao's original Batang Red Bull Thunder earlier this decade. The EPainters are looking more and more like a team that can be cheered for by the masa fans with their Pinoy style and swagger while the Gin Kings, though challenged by BMeg as of late, are still the crowd darlings of Philippine basketball. If the EPainters take control of the tempo and slow the game down, then they can pull off the wins behind their beefier frontline (Extra Rice, Inc.), top shooters (Jeffrei Chan) and savvy slashers (Ryan Arana, Jireh Ybanez, Paul Lee). If the Gin Kings were to dictate the tempo to their run and gun liking, then it's over. The EPainters don't have enough athletic bigs to cope up if the Gin Kings were to speed things up and may be forced to give up one too many fouls. Also, it would be quite interesting if Ginebra coach Siot Tangquincen will still stick to PG Rob Labagala vs the bigger Paul Lee (who's coming off an injury) or if he'll go with Mike Cortez (that would be nice, PBA-era Cool Cat vs someone who plays like the DLSU-era Cool Cat).
Prediction: 50-50 split
Must see TV: Lee vs Caguioa, Belga & Quinahan vs Menk & Villanueva, Gabe Norwood vs the paint, hard fouls and physical contact in general
