Who’s in, who’s out?

NorthPort has been basking in that winning feeling lately, but the Batang Pier still need a key victory over Barangay Ginebra to advance. —Sherwin Vardeleon

Phoenix Pulse coach Louie Alas will be Wednesday night’s most interested spectator at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The PBA Philippine Cup’s top seed has yet to figure out which team he will face in the quarterfinal round. And it’s not because he’s praying for the weakest possible matchup. It’s because he wants to start preparing as early as possible.

“It doesn’t matter who. Three of the four teams that we could face, we beat by just one possession,” Alas told the Inquirer. “There’s no one you can really choose.”

The only team among the four—NLEX, NorthPort, Magnolia and Alaska—that the Fuel Masters beat convincingly are the Aces. And they have wafer-thin hopes of making it.

“It’s beyond anorexic,” said Alaska coach Alex Compton, when asked about his team’s quarterfinal hopes.

And besides, “it’s Alaska,” said Alas. “You’re not going to beat them twice that way.”

NorthPort looks to avoid any more complications when it battles already-there Ginebra at 7 p.m. In the four scenarios that could emerge after Wednesday’s doubleheader, NorthPort is in the quarterfinals in two of them—and both if the Batang Pier defeat the Kings.

Ginebra has nothing to shoot for, having already locked up the third seed, and coach Tim Cone may opt to preserve his stars for the playoffs but there is one hitch: The only way to avoid a quarterfinal showdown with sister team and fierce rival Magnolia is with a win over NorthPort.

Batang Pier coach Pido Jarencio is optimistic his team can survive the challenge, especially after having gotten a needed break during the All-Star weekend.

“They’ve been through back-to-back games,” Jarencio said of his wards. “They needed the rest—especially the mental kind. Even if it’s just two, three days. A fresh body and a fresh mind is definitely a boost.”

A NorthPort loss sets them up for a knockout match against Alaska for the eighth seed—and the Phoenix assignment.

NLEX is an outright playoff team in three of four possible scenarios after today’s playdate. Two of those scenarios require a win over Magnolia in their 4 p.m. game. In the third, NLEX can lose but has to hope for a Ginebra victory in the second game.

But here’s the catch: If NLEX does lose, it nullifies any need for Ginebra to win in the second game because an NLEX defeat will cement a Kings-Hotshots showdown anyway.

Magnolia is merely playing for position and is expected to go all out against NLEX to avoid having to play No. 2 Rain or Shine, which has a twice-to-beat advantage.

So far the only quarterfinal duel already cemented is the best-of-three series between No. 4 and No. 5 San Miguel Beer.

Ties will be broken via quotient and only ties for eighth place will require knockout matches.