#PBA2015 MERALCO BOLTS vs KIA CARNIVAL PREVIEW: A GIANT OF A TASK

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The Meralco Bolts were fairly impressive in their conquest of the Barangay Ginebra Kings a few days ago. They played great defense in limiting Ginebra’s usual gunners from finding their sweet spots. Sure, Greg Slaughter got his, but Japeth Aguilar, Joseph Yeo, LA Tenorio, and Mark Caguioa all struggled. Meralco has a bit of a lighter assignment in Kia, but can they contain the Carnival’s behemoth big man, Peter John Ramos.

On the other end, Kia seemed all too predictable, going to their big Puerto Rican in the middle almost exclusively. Unfortunately, nobody else really came through for the beleaguered Carnival, who missed the services of both Manny Pacquiao and erstwhile coach Glenn Capacio.

Here are some key factors to watch in this game.

1. AWESOME AZTEC

Former San Diego State Aztec Josh Davis was mighty impressive in his first PBA outing, delivering the goods on all fronts. He reminded everyone of a lefty Kawhi Leonard, and he was instrumental in the Bolts’ big opening night win. Against a bigger but much slower Peter John Ramos, look for Davis to probably be effective once again. If he can hit his free throws that is.

Josh Davis last game: 25pts, 24rebs, 3stls.

2. EXPLOSIVE GRANADA

Another guy who really did well in Meralco’s last game was veteran SG Gary David, who drilled 3 triples on his way to 21 points. He also got 3 boards and handed out 4 assists. This is the kind of production Meralco needs from its number one shooting guard, so his performance was definitely a good sign.

Gary David last game: 21pts, 4asts, 3rebs, 3 triples

3. COOL CAT IS BACK

Another positive sign for Meralco was the solid play of veteran PG Mike Cortez. Cortez, who has been hampered by injury these past few years, did a great job quarterbacking Meralco. He shot efficiently from the field, got some rebounds, and found his teammates in scoring positions quite often. If the Cool Cat can continue to play at this level, then the Bolts should make a lot of noise this conference.

Mike Cortez last game: 12pts, 4rebs, 4asts, 50.0 FG%.

4. DOING THE DIRTY WORK

Whereas Josh Davis and Gary David provided the flash and scoring, Cliff Hodge did the dirty work against Ginebra. The athletic power forward had just 4 field goal attempts all game, but he made up for his offensive woes by cleaning the glass and protecting the rim. He’ll have to play even better against Kia, though, especially if he is to guard the gigantic Peter John Ramos.

Cliff Hodge last game: 6pts, 11rebs, 3blks, 1stl.

5. EL GIGANTE DE PUERTO RICO

Speaking of Ramos, the giant from Puerto Rico definitely made quite an impression in his first PBA game. He was dominant on both sides of the ball, though he failed to carry his squad to the win. Nevertheless, he was still pretty much unstoppable whenever he got the ball. He shot 65% from the field, grabbed a helluva lot of rebounds, blocked some shots, and even handed out 5 assists. Not bad at all.

Peter John Ramos last game: 41pts, 20rebs, 6asts, 3blks, 15/23 FGs.

6. MAD MARK

Strangely enough it was reserve frontliner Mark Yee who was the topscoring local for the Carnival. Whereas guys like Cervantes, Revilla, and Poligrates struggled, Yee was prolific. The oft-overlooked combo forward shot 6/10 from the field and even hit two treys on his way to 15 markers. If he can be the off-the-bench spark that Kia desperately needs, then maybe they can spring an upset or two in this conference.

Mark Yee last game: 15pts, 5rebs, 3asts, 1stl, 2 triples, 6/10 FGs.

7. DE-REILED

Speaking of Cervantes, the former FEU Tamaraw wasn’t gun-shy in his first Commish Cup game this season, but he didn’t exactly find the bottom of the net with consistency. Cervantes was just 3/18 from the floor against a GlobalPort team not known for its defense. He didn’t do much else, too, so it’s quite understandable why Kia lost to the Batang Pier. Outside of their import, though, the Carnival have no choice but to heavily rely on Cervantes for their points, so they will live and die with this guy.

Reil Cervantes last game: 8pts, 3rebs, 2asts, 3/18 FGs.

8. LOST IN TRANSITION

Another big factor contributing to Kia’s loss was the fact they turned the ball over 16 times (5 of which came from Ramos), and they were unable to stop GlobalPort’s fastbreak attack. Protecting the basketball and getting back on transition D are two things the Carnival will really need to work on if they want to be relevant this conference.

Kia last game turnovers: 16 (+2 vs GLO)

Kia last game transition pts allowed: 21 pts for GLO (only 8 for Kia)

9. PREVIOUS MEETING: NEAR DISASTER

In the previous and only meeting so far this season between these two teams, Meralco built a big lead only to see it whittled down by a resilient Kia five. Reil Cervantes and Eliud Poligrates were huge in that rally by Kia, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can finally upend Meralco in this game. Of course, the Bolts will do everything they can to make sure that a repeat of the near-disaster against Kia won’t happen again.

Last game against each other:

Pts in the paint:

MER – 54, KIA – 42

2nd chance pts:

MER 22, KIA – 16

Fastbreak pts:

MER – 8, KIA – 20

Pts off the bench:

MER – 41, KIA – 60

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