The Alaska Aces and Barangay Ginebra have been overwhelming favorites but if you saw the games last Sunday, this doesn’t seem to be the case. Winning handily, the Air21 Express and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters seemed to be the teams with the depth and experience as they won over the favored teams impressively.

Air21 has of course gotten better and as per Aces LA Tenorio, become a more “complete team”. By saying this, there is no question that LA was referring to the entry of four former SMB stars in Danny Seigle, Dondon Hontiveros, Dorian Pena and Paul Artadi. All players have the necessary experience, having savored PBA gold more than once in their career.

Paired with the heady plays of Josh Urbiztondo, Wynne Arboleda, JayR Reyes, Reed Juntilla and the unpredictable Leo Avenido, the Express are no pushovers and can turn the tables on the seasoned Alaska Aces.

Putting icing on top of everything is the fact that Alpha Bangura has been a wild producing machine, scoring and creating situations to which his local teammates have been responding. In their last game, Bangura practically carried the team to victory with 40 points with Avenido as the only other local to contribute in double figures (15 points).

With momentum on their side, the Express are definitely going all out for that semi-final seat. But don’t tell that to Alaska which is too proud of a team to give way to the rising Air21 Express team. Alaska coach Tim Cone is bound to come up with the necessary adjustments and hopefully these will push their team to the next round, something that slipped by them in the eliminations when Talk ‘n Text beat them for the outright semi-finals birth.

For Rain or Shine to make it, they have to sustain their hot level of shooting and tight defense to pull it through. Such are trademarks that Coach Yeng Guiao has been known for and hopefully they can carry over their hot plays into game three.

However, expect the Gin Kings to come out with renewed vigor especially after disappointing performances from their key players. Except for reinforcement Nate Brumfield, Mark Caguioa and Ronald Tubid were totally out of sync. With only Mike Cortez and rookie John Wilson supporting Brumfield, the Elasto Painters simply routed the more seasoned Barangay Ginebra squad.

For both series, it is obvious that local player support will help decide the outcome of Game 3. The reinforcements alone cannot carry the cudgels of their respective teams, especially if the other side brings its A-Game.

In all, the local PBA player that explodes on Wednesday will be the X-factor that may more or less decide the outcome. All teams have players that can do it so once tip-off comes, keep your eyes open for the player who either starts piling up the points or reigns on the defensive end.

Brian Yalung, Manila Bulletin