Metrostars, Gems top picks as series starts

The MBA Conference Finals begins today with the Manila Metrostars and the San Juan Knights clashing for the northern title and the Cebu Gems and the Negros Slashers tangling for the southern crown in what promises to be a classic pair of best-of-five series expected to go down-to-the-wire.

The Metrostars, the reigning champions who swept the Pasig Rizal-Pirates on their way to the finals, take on the Knights at 2 p.m. at the San Juan Gym, hoping to draw the best from Romel Adducul and neutralize their rivals’ advantage in height in a bid to gain the headstart in the series.

The Gems, on the other hand, host the Slashers in their own side of the playoff at the Cebu City Coliseum at 4:30 p.m., confident of sustaining their amazing run with a fired-up crew and a supportive home crowd that helped topple the Iloilo Megavoltz last week.

Adducul, still far from his peak form after sustaining an ankle injury two weeks ago, will be ranged against the vaunted triple tower combination of 6-foot-9 Bonel Balingit, 6-foot-8 Rafi Reavis and 6-foot-6 Omanzie Rodriguez. — Joey Villar