The top two teams in the league right now will go at it at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, as the seven-win franchises of the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots and the NLEX Road Warriors meet this Friday. Will the Hotshots become the first team to eight wins? Or, will the Road Warriors take over the top spot in the standings?
Catch this game live on Friday, June 6. 2025 at 7:30 pm, Manila time.
Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots (7-2)
Projected Starting Five:
- Paul Lee
- Mark Barroca
- Jerom Lastimosa
- Zavier Lucero
- Ian Sangalang
The Hotshots are already assured of a seat in the upcoming playoffs, but they have not been in spectacular form of late. After starting the conference with six consecutive victories, Magnolia has gone just 1-2. They lost to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (119-105) and to the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (85-81) over their last three games, with a win over the NorthPort Batang Pier (106-97) sandwiched in between those setbacks.
New acquisition Will Navaro had a silent debut for the Hotshots, scoring only five points with four rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench in the loss to the Barangay last Sunday. But Navarro is so much better than what those numbers suggest., Having acclimated more to his new environment, Navarro could have a better night this Thursday against NLEX. With Navarro and Lucero, the Hotshots have two versatile and lengthy weapons that could deal heavy damage on both ends of the floor.
NLEX Road Warriors (7-2)
Projected Starting Five:
- Robert Bolick
- Xyrus Torres
- Dave Marcelo
- Javee Mocon
- JB Bahio
After tasting a 108-92 loss to the Meralco Bolts, NLEX got back up right away, as the Road Warriors drubbed the Phoenix Fuel Masters last Sunday to the tune of a 105-95 score. Javee Mocon and Robert Bolick had a field day torching Phoenix as the former San Beda Red Lions stars combined for 43 points on 17-for-28 shooting from the field. Meanwhile, JB Bahio and Xyris Torres had 15 and 13 points, respectively, as part of the starting unit.
Another former Red Lion, Anthony Semerad, came off the bench and fired 14 points to help the Road Warriors, whose only other loss besides the one versus Meralco was against the San Miguel Beermen way back in their conference opener. The Road Warriors are well-coached, with Jong Uichico calling the shots from the sidelines, and have a clear go-to-guy in Robert Bolick, who is surrounded by quality weapons. They can be pretty tough to stop when they get going, which the Hotshots surely are wary of.
Picks
Spread: Magnolia (-5)
Over/Under: Over (190.5)
