THE SCRIPT couldn’t have been written any better.
With two playdates left in the PBA Governors’ Cup elimination round, two of four teams still in the hunt for a twice-to-beat privilege and one much-ballyhooed side fighting for life see action today to fan their respective playoffs bids at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Alaska and NLEX slug it out in the 4:15 p.m. contest, with the winner getting a chance to advance to a KO match for a top four berth, while Rain or Shine, which had such high hopes coming into the season-closing conference, guns for a win against Star in the 7 p.m. game hoping to just live another day.
Whoever comes out on top in the Alaska-NLEX match will fall into a three-way tie for No. 4 involving Meralco and Mahindra.
The Bolts, having beaten all the teams which will figure in the tie, will wind up with the superior quotient and the side which will have the second best tiebreaking record will advance opposite Meralco in the KO match.
As things stand, TNT KaTropa, Barangay Ginebra and defending champion San Miguel Beer are already assured of twice-to-beat privileges. The top ranking will be determined Sunday when the Texters and Gin Kings collide in Biñan, Laguna.
Elijah Millsap flew in yesterday and will take over as the Beermen’s import, their third after Arizona Reid and Mike Singletary.
The rankings in the bottom half of the draw will also be determined after today’s matches, as a Painters victory over the ousted Hotshots would put them in a tie for seventh and eighth spots along with two others: Phoenix Petroleum and the Alaska-NLEX loser.
The team with the best quotient will automatically become No. 7—and will face No. 2 in the quarterfinals—with the bottom two squads fighting it out for the last playoff slot.
Tournament format calls for only the top eight teams to march on, with those in the top four needing to beat lower-ranked enemies just once to advance to the Final Four where the winners of the No. 1 vs No. 8 and No. 4 vs No. 5 clash in a best-of-five series.
That’s why for the Texters and the Kings, finishing No. 2 in the eliminations doesn’t seem inviting at all, since it will mean likely clashing with the rock-solid Beermen.
TNT owns a lopsided victory over San Miguel in the eliminations but would obviously want to face a much smaller team on the way to the Finals.
Alaska, meanwhile, practically puts a streak of impressive campaigns on the line against the Road Warriors, as a loss would shove the Aces down in the bottom half.