Down-the-wire scramble for bonus
ONLY a week remains but the suspense continues in the chase for the No. 1 ranking and the No. 8 and last qualifying slot in the Oppo-PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
While Meralco is assured of a top-two berth and the twice-to-beat bonus in the quarterfinal playoffs with its leading 8-2 card, San Miguel Beer still has a chance of finishing No. 1 by winning its last game against defending champion Tropang TNT this Friday.
The Beermen, who survived a triple-overtime thriller against NLEX last week, moved up to 7-3 Sunday by dumping the ousted Phoenix Petroleum, 121-109, after trailing by 19 points.
If Meralco drops its last game to Barangay Ginebra tonight and SMB prevails over TNT, the Bolts and the Beermen would end up tied at 8-3 and San Miguel would clinch the No. 1 spot under the winner-over-the-other rule.
While a loss to Ginebra won’t affect Meralco’s status in the playoffs, a setback for SMB could pave the way for a five-way deadlock for the second top berth. A win by Ginebra and TNT would create a four-way tie at 7-4 among the Gin Kings, Texters, Beermen and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, who closed their schedule by dumping Blackwater Elite, 118-107, also Sunday. And Alaska (6-4) could join the logjam with a win over NLEX (5-5), also this Friday.
In this setup, the quotient system will decide the top-two teams that will play off for the second bonus, with the loser finishing as No. 3 and heading the four-team cast that will battle in the two best-of-three series in the quarterfinals.
If Ginebra and TNT drop their last game and NLEX upsets Alaska, a four-way tie at 6-5 ensues among the Kings, Texters, Road Warriors and Aces. The quotient system will again be used to rank the teams with the No. 4 squad winding up as the No. 7 qualifier that will face the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.
Mahindra (4-6) and Star (4-6) will dispute the eighth and last qualifying slot on April 13 with the survivor advancing against the top seed, which will need just one win like the No. 2 qualifier in the quarterfinals, to reach the Final Four.
The semifinals will be a best-of-five and the title series a best-of-seven affair.
Tyler Wilkerson scattered 40 points for San Miguel, which struggled in the first half before regaining control in the third quarter.
SMB coach Leo Austria said the Fuel Masters scared them with a tough stand in the first half led by Kevin Pinkney, who scattered 38 points.
The Beermen will have another hot hand in their crucial duel with the Texters in Gary David, who suited up and played in the closing minute against Phoenix. A former Gilas Pilipinas mainstay, David was tapped from the free agents’ list after he was dumped by Meralco following a feud with coach Norman Black.
David scored his first basket for SMB with an undergoal stab from a Chris Ross assist.
The Elasto Painters unveiled a new import in 270-pound Pierre Henderson-Niles and played just hard enough to turn back the Elite. Henderson Niles, who replaced Mo Charlo, finished with 12 points.
Blackwater, Phoenix and GlobalPort wound up at the cellar with 3-8 slates.
