Blackwater is looking to try something memorable as they try to complete an 8th seed upset against Meralco Bolts. Before we predict that, let us look back first in my key factors for the first two games of the playoffs.
GAME 1 - #1 Meralco Bolts VS #8 Blackwater Elite
Key Factors
Pace: Slow (In Favor of Meralco)
Rebounding: 46-42 (In Favor of Meralco)
Michael DiGregorio: 20 Pts, 4 Rebs, 3 Asts, 4/6 3FG (In Favor of Blackwater)
Verdict: Wrong
GAME 1 - #4 Star Hotshots VS #5 NLEX Road Warriors
Key Factors
Rebounding: 46-34 (In Favor of Star)
Three-point attempts: 14-25 (In Favor of NLEX)
Turnovers: 21-15 (In Favor of NLEX)
Verdict: Wrong
GAME 2 - #1 Meralco Bolts VS #8 Blackwater Elite
Key Factors
Pace
Pace
Allein Maliksi
Free-throw Efficiency
Allein Maliksi did not waste time to claim the mantle as the main man of the Blackwater Elite. Blackwater could not ask for a better main man as Maliksi already proved that he can win them the game at crunchtime.
The Pace is still vital for me. Even though the first game was won by Blackwater, Meralco was actually controlling the game as it got deeper. Blackwater better not be confident that they can win another slow game against the Bolts.
I expect another close game. Unless Meralco totally destroy the confidence of the gunners of Blackwater in the early part of the game, I expect free-throws to decide the game in the fourth quarter.
Prediction
Just looking at the numbers in the first game will tell you that Meralco could have won that game easily. They have a bad night in the free-throw area where they shot 14/21. With that, I expect them to win the do-or die game as they put a shackle to Maliksi and again control the pace of the game.
Just looking at the numbers in the first game will tell you that Meralco could have won that game easily. They have a bad night in the free-throw area where they shot 14/21. With that, I expect them to win the do-or die game as they put a shackle to Maliksi and again control the pace of the game.
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