The Phoenix Fuel Masters and the Blackwater Bossing open this Sunday’s doubleheader at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Blackwater crushed the Fuel Masters in a meeting earlier this September, but can the Bossing do it again? The Fuel Masters are in desperate mode for a win, but can all their frustration translate into a victory?

Catch this game live on Sunday,  September 15 at 5:00 pm, Manila time.

Phoenix Fuel Masters (0-7)

Projected Starting Five:

• Tyler Tio
• Ken Tuffin
• Brandone Francis
• Jason Perkins
• Raul Soyud

The Fuel Masters’ conference just got worse, as Phoenix absorbed its seventh loss in a row after a 139-127 defeat to San Miguel on Friday. One more loss and the Fuel Masters will be eliminated from playoff contention, so Phoenix can be expected to bring a do-or-die mentality into this rematch against Blackwater. One thing about Phoenix is that it has a lethal scorer in the form of import Brandone Francis. 

The former Florida Gators star dropped 48 points against the Beermen, shooting 17/26 from the field. Francis was also a headache for the Bossing in the first meeting, as he went erupted for 45 points, though, he needed 37 attempts from the field to get there. Given the winless status of Phoenix despite Francis’ scoring barrage, it’s clear that the Fuel Masters need more than his buckets to score a victory. For one, the Fuel Masters’ defense has to be tighter, as they have allowed all but one of their opponents so far this season to score at least 100 points.

Blackwater Bossing (3-4)

Projected Starting Five:

• Kent Ilagan 
• Sedrick Barefield
• George King Jr.
• Troy Rosario
• Justin Chua

It’s been about the streaks this conference for Blackwater. The Bossing kicked off their campaign with three consecutive losses before heating up and stitching together three wins in a row before losing to the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel last Tuesday, 112-98.  A poor start to that game proved to be too much to overcome for Blackwater, which was outscored by the Barangay in the first quarter by 14 points. 

The Bossing spent lots of energy as well taking lower percentage shots, as evidenced by their 7/25 shooting from the 3-pointe area and 1/9 from behind the second arc. Up against Phoenix’s faulty defense this Sunday, Blackwater could find more success with its shooting. In their win over the Fuel Masters, the Bossing shot 51.3 percent from the field and went 3/8 from the 4-point area. George King Jr. and Sedrick Barefield teamed up to negate the impact of Francis’ scoring explosion as the Blackwater tandem combined for 76 points.

Picks

Spread: Blackwater (-4.5)

Over/Under: Over (217.0)