The Meralco Bolts will play the NLEX Road Warriors 2021 PBA Philippine Cup Quarterfinals with a chance to advance to the next round, maybe even bring home a championship for the first time since joining the league in 2010. On paper, this battle may be the closest of all the quarterfinal match-ups.
The Bolts finished the elimination round strong by winning all of their four games coming back from quarantine protocols for a 9-2 record, while the Road Warriors were relegated at no. 7 with a 5-6 mark.
The number two seed Meralco Bolts just need to win against seventh seed NLEX Road Warriors for a return trip to the semifinals of this same conference for the second straight year.
The Bolts defeated the Warriors, 104-101, in their only meeting last 22 September, but Meralco barely escaped the tentacles of an upset after NLEX Rookie Calvin Oftana exploded for 34 points.
NLEX Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Philip Paniamogan
- SG: Jericho Cruz
- SF: Calvin Oftana
- PF: Raul Soyud
- C: Michael Miranda
NLEX had a three-game losing skid before winning against Blackwater Bossing, 90-73. After that win, they ended their elimination campaign with a lost to the Bolts. Their main weapon is their ability to score. They have four players off the bench who can chipped in at least 10 points each per game and this is why they are one of the highest-scoring teams this conference with an average of 103.69 points per game.
JR Quinahan, Kenneth Ighalo, and Don Trollano are capable of making a spark when they are on the floor. In their last meeting, the three combined for 30 points on a salty 9-of-26 shooting from the field. NLEX is expecting a much better output from these three, this time around.
Meralco Projected Starting Five:
- PG: John Pinto
- SG: Chris Newsome
- SF: John Quinto
- PF: Mac Belo
- C: Raymond Almazan
The Bolts claimed the second seed without a ball dominant scorer and instead used an egalitarian approach that has caught the rest of the PBA flat footed. They have a surprising nine players averaging between seven and 12 points per game, which alone is enough to tell the story of their success in this Philippine Cup, and their team-based approach has them in prime position to repeat, if not exceed, last year’s semifinal appearance.
The Bolts, who are riding a four-game winning streak going into their matchup with NLEX, defeated two of their opponents despite the absence of the pair of Newsome and Cliff Hodge because of health and safety protocols. Both players are now back in harness and ready to go, but the team will still miss the services of guard Aaron Black (arm injury).
Quinto, Allein Maliksi and Alvin Pasaol showed that they can easily stretch the floor to create lots of space for inside operators like Almazan (7.27 ppg), Hugnatan (10.67 ppg) and Belo (11.82 ppg). Expect the same scenario to take place in their match up with NLEX.
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