PBA best-of-three quarterfinals begin

HIGHER-RANKED squads Meralco and TNT look to gain a head start against separate opponents as the PBA Philippine Cup best-of-three quarterfinal series fires off at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City today, May 10.

The Bolts enter the opening round of the playoffs as the third seed after winning their last three games in the elimination round, including a pulsating 95-92 victory that handed top seed San Miguel Beermen their only loss in the all-Filipino conference last weekend in Batangas City.

Meralco will face sister team NLEX, the No. 6 seed team at 4:30 p.m.

TNT, ranked fourth in the playoffs, will take on fifth seed Rain or Shine at 7:30 p.m.

Robert Bolick, the tournament’s leading scorer with 27.6 points average per contest, admitted that drawing the Bolts as their opponent in the first round of the playoffs is a tough task.

“Meralco is a heavy opponent. This team beat some of the strong teams like Magnolia, Ginebra and San Miguel. This really is really very good,” Bolick said in Filipino.

The Bolts, however, will not have veteran guard Aaron Black in the playoffs. Black tore his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) last week in their 74-51 win over the Hotshots. This leaves the scoring cudgels to Chris Newsome, Allein Maliksi, Bong Quinto, along with the veteran presence of Raymund Almazan and Cliff Hodge.

Meanwhile, TNT coach Chot Reyes is hopeful that his walking wounded veterans Jayson Castro and Kelly Williams will be healthy enough to match the energy of the running-and-gunning Rain or Shine side.

Castro (knee) and Williams (back) played through injury during TNT’s 98-93 win over Magnolia over the weekend to secure the No. 4 seed in the playoffs.

“Rain or Shine, outside of San Miguel, is the hottest team in the league because this team has won six of its last seven games (in the eliminations),” said Reyes. “The last time we beat them, we escaped by the skin of our teeth.”

Veteran big man Beau Belga, who averages over 17 points per contest in the elims, will be leading the way for Rain or Shine, along with its young but determined wingman in Leonard Santillan, as well as Andrei Caracul, Gian Mamuyac, Jhon Clarito and Anton Asistio.

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