Wednesday Preview and Prediction: NLEX vs Blackwater, Alaska vs Meralco

(c) PBA Media Bureau

NLEX and Blackwater will try to get back on track at the expense of the other. While Meralco and Alaska try to continue their winning ways.

NLEX-BWE

Blackwater gave a good fight to two perennial contenders, Rain or Shine and TNT, but failed to grab the Ws. On the other hand, NLEX also suffered back-to-back defeats. It will be interesting to see the adjustments that these two squads made for this game.



Prediction
Blackwater is a great team in forcing turnovers and taking care of the ball. That will be an interesting fit against NLEX who force more turnovers but also turn the ball, a lot. Blackwater is a very bad rebounding team but NLEX is also not that great.

Statistically, Blackwater is the better option but I believe coach Yeng can exploit their inexperience and with three games under his belt, he should have a better grasp of his roster.

ALA-MER

This a very interesting game to talk about because Alaska cannot afford to go down to 1-3, while Meralco is hot right now after two convincing wins. Calvin Abueva is expected to be at 100% for this game.

Prediction
Looking at the Strengths and Weaknesses analysis, Meralco is looking good with their score in rebounding and fastbreak scoring. Meralco currently has the best net rebounds (own rebounds less opponent's rebound) and Alaska give up a lot.

A 100% beast will be a big help. Meralco is not dependable in limiting three-point shooting and that will be a good news for the Aces who averaged 11 threes per game with 38% efficiency. I expect this one to be close, with the hotter Meralco Bolts ending with the win.

My Record: 13-9