Texters, Hotshots clash as playoff race heats up

DEFENDING champion Star and Talk ‘N Text, powerhouses which have gone on-and-off in the eliminations of the PBA Governors’ Cup, collide Tuesday as they try to fan the flames of their respective playoff chances at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

Tip-off is at 7 p.m. with the Hotshots in dire need of a win to stay alive and the Tropang Texters also needing one to stay mathematically in the hunt for a top-four berth and the twice-to-beat privilege.

That playoff advantage is what San Miguel Beer can put in the bag with a win over also-ran Blackwater in the 4:15 p.m. contest.

Idle Alaska is tied for the lead with the Beermen at 7-2 and has earned at least a tie for the top-four berth. Only Barako Bull, which is reeling from two straight losses and is at 6-3, has the chance—after the Beermen and the Aces —to win eight games.

Globalport has one game left and is running fourth, while Rain or Shine, making a strong charge in the final phase of this elimination round, is also in the running for a top-four berth at 5-4 with two games remaining.

Meralco upset Barangay Ginebra on Sunday night to be at 5-4 as well. Losses by the Elasto Painters and Bolts in any of their last two matches would automatically put the Beermen and the Aces in the top four, regardless of the result of the Beermen’s clash with the Elite.

There are also a lot of possibilities in the bottom of the standings in the final few playdates.

Newcomer KIA Motors, at 4-4, actually can still contend for a top-four berth with a sweep of its last three games.

Ginebra has two games to go and needs nothing less than a pair of wins.