THE No. 1 pick in the 49th Season PBA draft is finally making his debut to highlight Thursday’s double-header in the Commissioner’s Cup.
Here is a glimpse of today's matches.
NORTHPORT VS. CONVERGE
When: Thursday, December 12. 5 p.m.
Where: Ninoy Aquino Stadium
Balti up for debut
Justine Baltazar is in line to make his PBA debut on Thursday after being activated in time for their match-up against NorthPort.
All eyes will be on Balti after he dominated the MPBL scene by capturing two straight season and finals MVP awards, while leading the Pampanga Giant Lanterns to back-to-back of championships. The question on everyone’s minds is whether Baltazar can show that same stuff in the PBA.
NorthPort looks to stay undefeated
Lost in the Baltazar storyline is NorthPort’s bid to remain unbeaten in the Commissioner’s Cup. The Batang Pier continue to surprise the opposition by racking up four straight wins including a 100-95 win over TNT.
The Batang Pier will look to spoil Baltazar’s debut, while trying to stay closer to booking a quarterfinals spot with a victory.
Refreshed FiberXers
Aside from getting added help with the entry of Baltazar, Converge comes in with an 11-day gap in between games. The FiberXers were relatively successful during a tough stretch to start the conference where they played three games in five days, winning two of their matches, including a 93-91 win over Magnolia last November 30.
BLACKWATER VS. MERALCO
When: Thursday, December 12. 7:30 p.m.
Where: Ninoy Aquino Stadium
Unbeaten vs. Winless
Two teams on different levels will face each other as Meralco, on a 3-0 start, faces Blackwater, which is at the bottom with a 0-3 record.
The Bolts are coming off a close 96-91 win over Terrafirma last December 6, while the Bossing lost to Eastern, 84-75, last Tuesday.
Production outside of George King
Tuesday was the same story for Blackwater, which saw George King taking over the bulk of the scoring load after producing 41 points.
No one else from the Bossing side, however, scored in double-digits once, again even with Sedrick Barefield’s return after he only had nine points.
Sustaining form even with depleted roster
Meralco is still on a winning streak, but the question is whether it can sustain it.
DJ Mitchell recently came in to replace Akil Mitchell, who suffered a broken nose, adding to the growing list of injured players for the Bolts. The good thing for Meralco is there are players stepping up led by Jansen Rios, who is averaging 11.7 points through three games.
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