The Bay Area Dragons had a close call in their second game of the conference, as they needed a desperate shot from Myles Powell to go in to stave off the NorthPort Batang Pier and score a 105-104 win. It was a whole lot easier for the Dragons in their next game, as they took down the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters last Saturday, 101-91. The Converge FiberXers, on the other hand, have split their first two games of the season. They are coming off a 109-105 loss to the Magnolia Chicken Timplados. Will the Dragons stay undefeated after Friday’s game? Or, will the FiberXers disconnect Bay Area from the win column? 

Catch this game live on Friday,  October 7 at 5:45 pm, Manila time.

Bay Area Dragons (3-0)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: Myles Powell
  • SG: Glen Robertson Yang
  • SF: Songwei Zhu
  • PF: Hayden Blankley
  • C: Duncan Ocerbeck Reid

Bay Area is perhaps the most balanced team in the PBA right now. After three games in the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, the Dragons have an offensive rating of 115.4 to go with a defensive rating of 96.0 – both second overall in the PBA this conference. The presence of Myles Powell is the biggest factor in the success the Dragons are having. Powell should be on an NBA team’s roster, so Bay Area is lucky to have the former Seton Hall Pirate star, who is averaging 36.7 points per game, so far. 

Also a chief factor that is propelling Bay Area is its outside shooting. Although the Dragons went just 9/39 from deep in the Phoenix game, they are tied for second with 12.0 threes per game on 33.3% accuracy, which is also good for No. 2 in the league. Their 59.2 TS% is a testament to their ability to create shots and score off easy baskets, especially for 7-5 Liu Chuanxing, who is shooting over 70FG%.

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Converge FiberXers (1-1)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: Aljun Melecio
  • SG: Jeron Teng
  • SF: Kevin Racal
  • PF: Quincy Miller
  • C: Abu Tratter

Notwithstanding their loss to Magnolia, it’s pretty apparent that the FiberXers are no pushovers after two games in the conference. Quincy Miller has been delivering the goods so far for Converge. Miller scored 38 points in his PBA debut, which was a 124-110 win over the Terrafirma Dyip, before dropping another 38-point performance against perennial title contender Magnolia. His performance in the Magnolia validated what Converge already knew – that it has a good one in Miller. 

With Miller, who is a mobile and athletic 6-10 big, the FiberXers are able to push the ball downcourt hard and play at a fast pace, as evidenced by their league-leading average of 94.0 field goal attempts per game. That speed plus their accuracy from deep will be a problem for Bay Area. Converge’s outside shooting is more about volume than accuracy, though, as it is No. 1 with 42 3FGA/G, No. 2 with 12.0 3FGM/G, and just eighth with a 28.6 3FG%.

PREDICTION:

Spread: Converge (+15.5) covers the spread.

Over/Under: The Over (208.5) hits.

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