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| (c) PBA Media Bureau |
The most anticipated game of the elimination round will finally happen this Christmas Day. Before that, Mahindra will try to get their first W against the Elite who are looking to grab the solo #2 spot.
MAH-BWE
Blackwater broke the puzzle of the Globalport Batang Pier with their crispy offense. On the other hand, Ginebra pounced on the Enforcers. Will Blackwater have an easy night against the Enforcers or will Mahindra finally do the unthinkable and win a game?Prediction
According the Strengths and Weaknesses scores, Mahindra only have a single advantage and that is inside scoring. According to the statistics, Mahindra rebounds more ball per game. Even with those positives, Mahindra will not be able to overcome all the disadvantages that they have.
BGSM-STAR
Other than being the Manila Classico, this game is also very meaningful to their standings. If they loss, Ginebra will fall to a 2-4 record and Star will be a game further from a top 6 spot. Ginebra will face a very different Star, led by Paul Lee, Jiovani Jalalon and Aldrech Ramos.
Prediction
Coach Chito Victolero has been successful in their last three games in pushing his team to work very hard on the defensive end. That was the strength of Ginebra in last year's Philippine Cup but they have struggled without their anchor inside, Greg Slaughter.
Star is also hitting the most three-pointers per game with Aldrech Ramos leading the charge with his 2.2 long bombs in 68.8% efficiency. To simplify things, Ginebra cannot win this game by sustaining what they have been doing, they need to shift gears.
The problem is, I don't think Coach Tim has found the biggest reason of their early struggles. Pushing me to choose Star for this game.
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