After surviving group play, the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots and the Rain of Shine Elasto Painters are set to kick off their best-of-five quarterfinals series this Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. Which team will draw first blood and get that early 1-o series lead?

Catch this game live on Wednesday,  September 25 at 7:30 pm, Manila time.

Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots (0-0)

Projected Starting Five:

• Jerrick Ahanmisi
• Jeruk Balanza
• Rayvonte Rice
• Zav Lucero
• Ian Sangalang

Magnolia finished the elimination round with a 5-5 record, good for just fourth in Group A. Nevertheless, that .500 slate was good enough for them to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals. The Hotshots have been shaky this conference. They have alternated wins and losses in their last six games. The Hotshots are also coming off an 89-82 defeat at the hands of the Converge FiberXers last Monday – the same game where Magnolia paraded new import Rayvonte Rice. 

However, Rice was far from impressive in that contest, as he scored just five points on 2/14 shooting from the floor. Despite his poor performance in his PBA debut, Rice still has the full trust of Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero. Perhaps having more time and practice with his team in the days between the Converge game and the date with Rain or Shine would translate into a much better performance from the former Illinois Fighting Illini star.

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (0-0)

Projected Starting Five:

• Adrian Nocum
• Anton Asistio
• Jhonard Clarito
• Mark Borboran
• Aaron Fuller

Rain or Shine topped Group B in the elimination portion of the conference, and that says a lot about the Elasto Painters, considering that they played in the same division as the likes of the San Miguel Beermen and the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. However, Rain or Shine is fresh off a 139-118 loss to the Blackwater Bossing last Monday. 

Yeng Guiao’s squad had no answer to Blackwater import George King, who exploded for 64 points. Perhaps it will be a much easier job for Elasto Painters to contain Magnolia’s reinforcement, who scored 59 fewer points on Monday than King. Speaking of imports, the Elasto Painters have an energy guy in Aaron Fuller, who had 14 points and nine assists against Blackwater. Fuller is not the lights-out scoring import, but he gets the job done most of the time on both ends of the floor and fills a lot of needs for the Elasto Painters, who have averaged 121 points in their last three outings.

Picks

Spread: Rain or Shine (-3)

Over/Under: Over (210.0)