PBA-DL: Blackwater tangles with Cagayan Valley in 2 versus 3 semis match-up

Blackwater Sports clashes with the Cagayan Valley Rising Suns in the one of the two semifinal match-ups as the second and third seeds, respectively, look to extend their postseason stay in the 2012-13 Aspirants Cup for another round by making the Finals. The Rising Suns were pushed to the brink, having needed to burn their twice-to-beat advantage prior to overhauling the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems. Blackwater on the other hand, has been idle, after earning a first-round bye, courtesy of their 8-2 card.

Who are #2 Blackwater Sports? Projected starting-five: Key reserves: Karim Abdul, Allan Mangahas, Ian Mazo, Pari Llagas Blackwater Sports might be the best two-way team stats-wise in the PBA-DL. On offense, hot-shooting from the likes of Kevin Ferrer and Robby Celiz has them connecting on 32.22 percent of their three-pointers, and 44.92 overall from the field, both of which are top marks in the league. They're no slouches either on the defensive end. They allow the fewest points of their opponents, 70.10 per game, which they accomplish by holding opponents to just 36.44 percent shooting from the field, league-best numbers as well. That makes this second-seed a very tough nut for their opponents to crack. Who are the #3 Rising Suns? Projected starting-five: Key reserves: Adrian Celada, Edrian Lao, Mark Cruz, Joshua Webb Efficiency was the name of the game for the Rising Suns in the quarterfinals. Overall, they're norming 85.50 points per game on 76.75 attempts from the field, but against the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems, they managed to put up 86 points on just 59.5 tries. [Related: Cagayan Valley Rising Suns eclipse Cebuana Lhuillier Gems] If they can keep up their efficient game, they could be a real handful in the semis, given how they're also tops in the league in rebounds (50.83) and blocks (5.42). Plus, they have a good psychological weapon in their arsenal, given that they average 22.42 points in the fourth quarter, another 'best in the league' number for the team. Previous encounter When these two teams met in the elimination round, it was a one-sided affair, as Blackwater crushed Cagayan 93-70, last January 24. Coincidentally, it was Cagayan's final elimination round game, while Blackwater clinched the second outright semis berth with the victory. The normally high-scoring Rising Suns saw their offense slow to a crawl in the second and third periods, as the team put up just a combined 28 points in the 20 minutes. That, plus  a 33-point fourth quarter from their opponents, allowed Blackwater to post a conference-high 93 points. Five Blackwater players scored at least eight points, led by UST mainstays Jeric Fortuna and Kevin Ferrer unloading 13 points each. Cagayan on the other hand got a game-high 16 from James Forrester.   How do these two teams match-up? This will be a classic case of offense versus defense, as Cagayan Valley's scoring hopes to trump Blackwater's stopping ability. It will also be a game of pace, as the Rising Suns look to push the tempo versus the slow-it-down style of their opponents. The kicker though is Blackwater's underrated ability to put the ball through the hoop. If Kevin Ferrer or Allan Mangahas catches fire, then it's not inconceivable that they can hang with Cagayan in a shootout, as seen in their regular season meeting. On the other hand, big offensive outings from Mark Bringas and Raymund Alamzan could spell difficulty for the relatively small front court of their foes, especially if Karim Abdul (17.22 minutes) continues to underperform. - GMA News