Fearless Forecast Round 4

Some sports news from back home. PBA Governor's Cup Finals is on, featuring the Arwind Santos team Talk n Text against Petron coached by ex-San Miguel stalwart Ato Agustin. The series is tied at 1-1, the second game saw a physical and bruising encounter between these 2 teams with some players ejected. The Smart Gilas (national team) is struggling in the Jones Cup but is still expected to advance to the top 4. Of course the medal haul of 5 gold and 2 silver by the Philippine Dragon Boat team in an international meet in LA brought pride to the country.

Here in New Zealand, basketball fans are celebrating the success of the Tall Blacks historic win over the Russians to claim the Stankovic Cup which was recently held in China. Coupled with the Breakers also winning the NBL tournament, basketball experts predict these recent events will boost interest in the sport in the country.

Games Recap
Did you watch the All Blacks game against the Wallabies last week? ABs walloped the Kangaroos with a 30-14 drubbing. In our featured game last week, it was a different sport but had a similar result. Title contender Manila Motors/CMR gave defending champion Dimond a good old fashioned spanking. Manila Motors was so dominant that as early as the first quarter the game was over with Manila Motors leading by 16 , score at 31-15. By the second quarter this ballooned to 28, score now at 64-36.

Coach John Senfelices had the luxury of fielding in not only his second stringers but his third stringers as they played for most of the game in the second half. The final score of 111-90 belied the massacre of the roof makers. It was a well balanced attack on the offensive end with Bong Eldialde top scoring with 14 points for CMR. But the defense of the West based team was overwhelming with Dimond players looking lost and confused.

In the other game, JR Panel started sluggishly ahead by only 4 points and allowing LM Money to stay close with the half time score at 47-43. But the third quarter was a different story. Erning Bautista playing his first game of the season was rebounding and running like a teenager on fast breaks; while Dennis Lorenzo controlled the boards on both ends and connected on his perimeter shooting. JR Panel was suddenly up by 19 points 77 - 58.

Veteran players from the money transferers Ross Ganzan and Restie Almoite tried to stage a comeback in the last quarter but MVP contenders Ferdie Manuel; Joshua del Rosario and Daryl Burias did enough to put the game out of reach, final score 92 - 76.

New World (0-2) vs Manila Motors/CMR (2-0)
Teams at opposite ends of the win loss ladder square off in the first game. New World coming from a rest weekend would have been wise to use that break to sort things out if they want to have a chance of advancing to the next round. Team chemistry, defining roles would be 2 key areas they need to work on.
They certainly have the talent but someone will need to step up as their leader and control the team.

Nakakatakot! Or scary for our non-Filipino readers is how best to describe the Manila Motors/CMR team. Firing from all cylinders last week they smothered their opponent last week. Veterans Romy Guevarra and Eric Hansen played well, in fact the whole team played well, and when that happens this is a very hard team to beat. This team will be high on confidence. They have not even peaked yet but they are playing like a well oiled machine,. This team is simply too good. Fearless Forecast: Manila Motors/CMR  by 14 points.

JR Panel (2-0) vs Dimond/Ampelite (2-1)
Dennis Lorenzo and company will be facing their ex-team mates and they will make sure that they win this game. They certainly have the players to do it and the will to do so. Expect Edmond Quizon to play his first game and possibly even Jumbo Tabaquero, to complete the bruise brothers. JR Panel is expected to be a title contender with their heavy weight star line up. This game will be a good opportunity to gauge how serious Jun Ablanida's quest for a championship is. 

How will Dimond perform after an embarrassing loss the week before? Well depends on how their key players will play. Last week they were simply outplayed; out hustled and outscored by Manila Motors. They will remember this game for a long long time. They were toyed with and simply demolished by a superior team on the day. They will need to play well in this game to regain their self respect.

JR Panel has the edge in this face off. They have a solid player in each position and they are out to impress their team manager. Dimond will need to start strong to have a chance, otherwise if they fall behind early it might be too hard to catch up psychology. Fearless Forecast: JR Panel 6 points.

Remember guys, see you at the games and bilog ang bola!!!