2020 PBA Season Preview: Power Ranking the Starting Line-ups



The 2020 PBA season is fast approaching. Other than the JP Erram trade which is still not approved by the PBA trade committee, it seems like the line-up of every team is already settled. 

So, assuming that the JP Erram will get the approval, which team now has the best starting five? Let us see.

#12 BWE: Shaw-Belo-Trollano-Canaleta-Sumang
The potential of this starting five resides on the hand of Maurice Shaw. If he can dominate and pull the defense towards the paint, that should give a lot of breathing room for their lanky and athletic wing players.

#11 DYIP: Cahilig-Ramos-Adams-Perez-McCarthy
The frontline of Columbian is a big problem but the power of the Adams-Perez-McCarthy trio is immense. Those three can easily tilt a game to them, on both ends of the court.

#10 NLEX: Quinahan-Soyud-Ighalo-Cruz-Ravena
For NLEX, they will now rely on Quinahan as their main center. He is more than capable, especially with a great backcourt to help him. Soyud has been romping up in their tune-ups, so I expect him to get the starting nod.

#9 PHX: Chua-Perkins-Wright-Mallari-Jazul
In terms of offensive skill, this five could go toe-to-toe with any other five in the PBA. Unfortunately, Chua will have a hard time handling the gigantic center. They badly need Calvin Abueva.

#8 ALA: Tratter-Manuel-Teng-DiGregorio-Casio
I am excited to see how Alaska will now play around Jeron Teng because they revealed in the offseason that he is now their main man. I expect DiGregorio to be a great fit because of his off-ball shooting.

#7 ROS: Belga-Norwood-Mocon-Rosales-Nambatac
This is the five that can easily climb up this ranking if we do it again in the future. The Norwood-Mocon combo is one of the best defensive forward-combination in the league. Add two aggressive guards in Rosales and Nambatac and you have a hell of a five in here.

#6 MER: Almazan-Hodge-Newsome-Quinto-Amer
The last conference showed us that Meralco may have found a reliable foundation in Almazan, Newsome, Quinto and Amer. With Almazan in the middle, Meralco's athletic wings are maximized on both ends of the court.

#5 NOR: Standhardinger-Anthony-Ferrer-Taha-Elorde
Why are they here? Because they have the most impactful player in the PBA this season, in their starting five and he is supported with 3-and-D guys. Anthony is also an awesome partner for Christian because of his plethora of skills and the Ferrer-Taha tandem in the wing is more than capable to withstand, defensively, any line-up in the league.

#4 MAG: Sangalang-Pingris-Dela Rosa-Lee-Banchero
Magnolia barely beats Northport due to their star power. What is great about their starting five is the combination of defense and offense. Pingris and Dela Rosa are their foundation on defense while Lee and Banchero will take care of the offense.

#3 SMB: Tautuaa-Santos-Lassiter-Cabagnot-Ross
I am not yet sure if Santos will get the nod for the starting spot but nevertheless, the backcourt of the Beermen and Santos is already aging. They still have the star power to go toe-to-toe against the other teams but I do not think they have enough skills to be at the top 2 spots.

#2 BGSM: Aguilar-Devance-Thompson-Pringle-Tenorio
With the tallest frontline, Ginebra will have an advantage early in their games. Thompson also provides immense rebounding in the guard position. And the playmaking that the Pringle-Tenorio will bring will be hard to stop. They have more holes though than the #1 starting five.

#1 TNT: Erram-Rosario-Parks-Pogoy-Castro
This is the most complete line-up in the game. Each player is above average on both ends of the court, except Castro, defensively. They are also very modern because all of them can shoot, with four capable of hitting a lot of threes in a game. Defensively, they can easily switch with Rosario and Parks capable of defending up to four positions.

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