NORTHPORT and TNT will be going for a place in the semifinals on Thursday when the PBA 49th Season Commissioner’s Cup continues at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
We preview the two quarterfinal sets below:
NORTHPORT VS. MAGNOLIA
When: Thursday, February 6. 5 p.m.
Where: Ninoy Aquino Stadium
NorthPort eyes early entry to semifinals
NorthPort looks to take advantage of its No. 1 seeding and twice-to-beat incentive by reaching the semifinals on the first try with a victory on Thursday against No. 8 Magnolia. The Batang Pier defeated the Hotshots, 107-103, last December 4, one of their three victories against San Miguel Corp. squads this conference.
Another do-or-die for Magnolia
The Hotshots seem to be comfortable in pressure-packed games as of late as they will play their fifth straight do-or-die contest. Magnolia made it to the quarterfinals with a 112-81 win over NLEX last Sunday.
Strengths
NorthPort has the ability to put a lot of points on the board as it leads the league in scoring with an average of 109.67 in the eliminations. The defense of the Batang Pier also couldn’t be underestimated as they lead the league in steals with 11.17 and blocks with 4.42.
Defense is also what Magnolia is known for, even in their struggles. The Hotshots are second in points allowed with 93.77 behind Barangay Ginebra, and have limited their opponents to less than 10 points in their last four victories.
Lucero on a tear
Zavier Lucero has been a huge factor in Magnolia’s resurgence, making a mark by averaging 20.25 points and 5.75 rebounds over the last four games. NorthPort must use its familiarity with Lucero, who once played for the Batang Pier early in his career, to contain him.
Can Munzon repeat his last game against Magnolia?
Joshua Munzon had a huge outing for NorthPort in its match against Magnolia in the eliminations where he had 25 points and conference-highs of nine rebounds and five steals. The Hotshots must be careful in the passing lanes with Munzon lurking to intercept the ball at any given time.
TNT VS. EASTERN
When: Thursday, February 6. 7:30 p.m.
Where: Ninoy Aquino Stadium
TNT looks to make it to Final Four
TNT guns for a place in the semifinals with a win over Eastern. The Tropang Giga own a twice-to-beat advantage after securing the second seed with an 8-4 win-loss record. Eastern is at No. 7 with a 7-5 slate.
Eastern eyes repeat over TNT
Eastern is eyeing to extend the series into a rubber match. It has a psychological advantage since the Hong Kong guest team defeated TNT, 105-84, last December 6, but that was the Tropang Giga’s first game of the conference and was coming off a championship in the Governors’ Cup.
How fatigued is Eastern?
Eastern will play against TNT just a day after it lost to Taoyuan Pilots in an EASL game in Hong Kong. The team traveled to Manila for the PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals match in a game for survival for the guest team.
Strengths
Eastern can defend with the best of them, giving up the third least points in the eliminations with 95.92 and just right behind Ginebra and Magnolia. Eastern can also be a deadly outside shooting team after being at No. 3 in three-point percentage with 37.23 and No. 1 in four-point percentage with 38 percent.
Come playoff time, TNT is expected to bring its A-game on defense. It is at No. 4 in points allowed with 96.33, one level behind Eastern, and at No. 2 in steals with 8.08 behind NorthPort. Their import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has a lot of motor, and can do a lot of things for TNT that Eastern must also contain.
Calvin Oftana targets Eastern
In the previous clash between TNT and Eastern, Calvin Oftana went 0 of 5 from threes, the only time this conference that the Tropang Giga scorer didn’t make a trey. Oftana has been on fire from the outside, making four threes in each of their two games in the eliminations.
Blankley out to arrest shooting woes
Hayden Blankley converted 17 threes in the first seven games of Eastern this conference. Since then, Blankley had only connected on two threes including four matches where he didn’t hit a three. Blankley must do better in order for him to extend this quarterfinal series.
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