The Purefoods-Star Hotshots is scheduled for a head-to-head game against the Meralco Bolts at 7:00 P.M. on May 24, 2017 in Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Two giant teams are set to collide this evening and the Smart Araneta Coliseum will be shaken as Alex Stephenson and Ricardo Ratliffe both ready to match-up with each other.
Meralco opened the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup with an impressive win-loss record and the obvious big difference is their import, Alex Stepheson.
Unlike other team’s foreign hire, Stepheson loves to play in the post and securing those offensive rebounds are his priorities.
He lacks outside game but still he managed to deliver 22.3 points along with his 17.7 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 assists.
Probably this is one of the reasons why other teams switched their imports even the team still winning.
Star and TNT are the recent teams made this move, currently they’re both above 50% in winning percentage.
Coach Chito Victolero has already anticipated this battle and this is the plan to stop Meralco’s behemoth.
“We need to tighten our defense inside and limit the activity of their import especially in getting the offensive rebounds and second chance points. Perimeter defense is also very important to prevent their guards from penetrating and creating their shots,” Victolero added.
Ricardo Ratliffe who is the original choice of Star this second conference according to its coaching staff was amazing against TNT.
Ratliffe scored 37 points and pulled 22 big rebounds during his PBA comeback game.