PBA playoffs set interesting match-ups

The PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup quarter final round begins on Wednesday, September 28, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium with interesting pairings of the best-of-five series.

First to battle will be the sister teams TNT Tropang Giga and NLEX Road Warriors.

TNT finished the elimination round as the top team of Group A with a 7-3 slate, while NLEX almost didn't make it to the next round as they only have a 5-5 mark, same with Blackwater Bossing but with superior quotient (+6) in their tie-breaker.

The Tropang Giga might have all the advantage in the game as they ought to defend their Governors’ Cup crown led by their NBA caliber import, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson who's been a workhorse since he returned to the PBA hardcourt but scoring champion Robert Bolick and the Road Warriors are hungry to taste a slot in the big stage.

Next will be a battle between teams with two contrasting styles of play.

The Group B's No. 1 team, Rain or Shine is known for its run-and-gun style of play with their roster given the license to shoot anywhere from their front court as long as they are open.

One reason for the success of the Elasto Painters this season is the mix of veterans and young guns thriving together with the likes of Beau Belga and Gabe Norwood paving the way for the rising stars such as Jhonard Clarito, Andrei Caracut, Anton Asistio, Adrian Nocum, Gian Mamuyac, and even rookies Caelan Tiongson and Felix Pangilinan-Lemetti. 

Meanwhile, Magnolia would like to pound inside as they have the tools to do so with Ian Sangalang and James Laput manning the middle, while sophomore Zavier Lucero who's been playing consistently for the squad.

The Hotshots are also known for their identity as a defensive team led by veterans Mark Barroca, Calvin Abueva and Rome Dela Rosa, who always tried to limit their opponents below the century mark every game or even lower than 90's.

RoS might have all the tools this conference as they have shown their dominance in the double-round eliminations plus they are also hungry to taste a championship but Mags would hold on to do old saying that "offense wins games but defense wins championship" even though the team has been ringless since the 2018 edition of the tournament.

On the other side of the fence, Meralco will face Ginebra once again in a series and it will feature the Durham-Brownlee match-up for the fourth time.

Though this time, it will be earlier as they will battle each other in a quarterfinal best-of-five series.

In their first three series, Brownlee swept all the streaks including the championship-clinching, buzzer-beating three pointer in 2016 that gave the Gin Kings their first title in eight years.

The next two still went to Brownlee when they trounced Meralco in a hard-fought seven games the next year at the Philippine Arena to defend their title, then got it back against the Bolts in 2019 when Ginebra cruised to a 4-1 series win.

It looks like Brownlee and the Gin Kings have all the advantage against the Bolts but this time is different as they don't have Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle in their roster, whom they traded for Rookie of the Year Stephen Holt and Isaac Go before the season starts.

Another factor is that the Bolts have won their first ever championship last season with an All-Filipino crew after defeating the mighty San Miguel Beermen in the finals. Not only that, they also defeated Ginebra in their semifinals series.

Furthermore, Allen Durham also experienced being a champion in 2013 with the Ryukyu Golden Kings in the Japan B.League.

With all the accolades being said, it will be another thrilling match-up between the two rivals.

Finally, it will be a battle between the veterans and the young guns.

The most successful team in the PBA San Miguel Beermen with 29 titles will rely once again to the eight-time MVP June Mar Fajardo to carry them to the Promised Land and capture their 30th championship of the franchise.

On the other hand, Converge will depend on their young guns led by Alec Stockton who's playing his great since last season, and Justin Arana who's been their anchor in the middle, together with their new-import Jalen Jones who led them in their past two victories before coming to the playoffs.

SMB might be the giant when it comes to experience and roster but the FiberXers have a promising line-up with desire to upset big guns like the Beermen. Not only that, this season's top overall pick Justin Baltazar has not played a single game yet as he still has commitment in the other league.