After topsy-turvy elims, PBA quarterfinals match ups are set

A topsy-turvy elimination round in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup has paved the way for a potentially thrilling quarterfinals, which fires off on Monday.

On Saturday, victories by TNT and Magnolia overset the quarterfinals match-ups.

Rain or Shine, one of the biggest revelations this conference, emerged as the No. 1 team after finishing the eliminations with a 9-2 record.

The reward for the Elasto Painters, however, is a date with the eighth-seeded GlobalPort Batang Pier and their explosive point guard Stanley Pringle, who had a 50-point outing this conference.

Fortunately for Rain or Shine and No. 2 Alaska, which faces No. 7 Magnolia, both will have a twice-to-beat advantage.

The other quarterfinals pairings are No. 3 TNT against defending champion San Miguel and No. 4 Meralco versus Barangay Ginebra in a pair of best-of-three duels starting Monday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“It’s not going to be easy for us,” said SMB center June Mar Fajardo on matching up with TNT and its hefty import Joshua Smith. “We all have to help each other.”

The Hotshots beat the Beermen on Saturday night but still slipped to No. 7 after failing to win by at least 14 points.

Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero, though, remained upbeat of his team’s chances despite being in a tough situation in needing to beat Alaska, which just got back Diamon Simpson as its import and has one of the league’s premier big men in Vic Manuel.

“Against Alaska obviously, we’re the underdogs. We just have to prepare hard. I think it will be a very hard game for us. We will try to give our best effort and play our best game,” Victolero said.