Game 1 was one of the best example to preached that basketball is a 48 minutes game. Star Hotshots controlled that game from the first second up to the 43rd minutes.
Unfortunately, Meralco's clutch genes sparked and drilled long bombs and strengthened their defense, enough to steal the W from the Star.
So, who should make the adjustments in game 2?
KEY OF THE GAMES
Allen Durnham
Three-point Shooting
Bench Production
Allen Durnham is no doubt the best player in the series. Star don't have anybody who can stop him, one-on-one. So, it should always be a team-effort. And they actually did a great job in game 1.
They need to do it again because they cannot let Durnham control the paint. That will give confidence to the local players of the Bolts.
In the last few minutes of the game, Meralco won it by sinking their three-point shots. They will need that again to repeat. Star is just too long and in sync in defending the paint. That is the same case for Star. Star has isolation plays in their books and for that to work much better, a bigger space is needed.
The two coaches used their reserves in different ways. Coach Chito used a deep bench, with five players reaching 10 or more playing minutes. Coach Norman has two integral pieces in his bench, Dillinger and RDO. Both of them played 30 or more minutes in game 1.
I will not be shocked if they shuffled their rotations but I expect them to play it the same way. Which style will work in game 2? It could be the penultimate key.
PREDICTION
The defensive game-plan of Star was really excellent in game 1. I expect Meralco to adjust. I think, they will empower their shooters to attempt more and wish that it will open up the paint.
Paul Lee, Mark Barroca and Acox will not shoot that bad in unison in game 2. Meralco should be wary.
I expect Star to not overthink it and just play their great defense as their Star finally hit their marks. Star will tie the series.
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