The 2024 Philippine Cup quarterfinals fires off on Friday, May 10, and features a pair of intriguing best-of-three showdowns between teams that are evenly matched at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Expect fireworks as the league's best scorer in Robert Bolick of NLEX takes on the league-leading defense of Meralco in the opening game at 4:30 p.m. as youth meets veteran experience in the nightcap between Rain or Shine and TNT at 7:30 p.m.

All the four teams were toting similar 6-5 records at the end of the eliminations but they are already throwing that out of the window as each of them aim to draw first blood in their respective series.

Of the four, however, Meralco is coming into the quarterfinals riding the crest of  three straight victories to end the eliminations, capped by a monumental 95-92 upset win over the then sweep-seeking San Miguel in Batangas City.

That’s exactly why the Road Warriors are bracing for a tough fight against their sister team, especially since Bolts’ defense, thus far, is nothing short of spectacular this conference.

“Sila yata ang tumalo sa lahat ng malalakas, Magnolia, Ginebra, San Miguel. So this team is very good. Defensive team, ika nga," noted Bolick.

"Magandang match-up iyon, excited kami. Tingnan natin. For sure magandang gameplan gagawin ng mga coaches namin para i-prepare kami sa game sa Friday,” he added.

NLEX head coach Frankie Lim needs his wards to step up on the offensive end especially if they wish to alleviate Meralco’s defense on Bolick.

More than the defense, the Bolts also have the likes of Bong Quinto and Allein Maliksi to lead the offense for the team. Even Cliff Hodge, rarely a scoring forward in his career, put up 20 points in the victory over SMB.

Over at the other bracket, the Elasto Painters are expected to bank on their young legs to outrun and outgun the veteran-laden Tropang Giga in their own series opener.

ROS head coach Yeng Guiao is digging deep in its rotation to ensure that his team keeps the high-octane pace it wants for the entire 48 minutes.

“Sinusubukan namin ikeep ang pace namin kasi dun kami mas magkakaroon ng chance na manalo, so ‘yung rotation talaga namin ay malalim para palaging fresh ‘yung players namin,” explained Guiao.

Keeping up with that depth is what TNT head coach Chot Reyes believes is the key for the Tropa to be competitive in the series, especially with veteran leaders Jayson Castro and Kelly Williams nursing injuries.

That put a lot of load on their stars Calvin Oftana and RR Pogoy to carry the fight while also having guys like Brian Heruela, Brandon Ganuelas Rosser and Kim Aurin provide lift from the bench.