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No other playoff match-up could be as 50-50 as this one not only because of their "too close to call" rankings but also because one team is rising steadily while the other is suffering from a malady of injuries and off-court issues. As a basketball fan, we're quite pleased that the Mixers are back in the hunt to defend their title after a slow star and that the Bolts, dismissed as a team that's clearly tanking to get a better seeding at next year's PBA draft after the lopsided Sol Mercado trade, are back in the Playoffs.
PG Mark Barocca vs Chris Ross
It's going to be speed versus speed, with a slight edge to Ross for his defensive tenacity and rebounding. Barocca's not too shabby either and for the Mixers to win they'll need the former FEU stalwart to deliver offensively and defensively. It's going to be interesting on how these two will guard each other. Ross can't give Barocca too much daylight as the latter has shown an improvement from the outside. Barocca can't stick too closely to Ross because the Fil-Am will just blitz his way to the rim for the finish or a kickout to his shooters. Ross can guard Barocca straight up, but Barocca will have to watch out for Ross' outside passes so the entire Mixers will have to chip in to play safety at all times.
Adv. Meralco
