NLEX Road Warriors’ coach Jimmy Alapag during a game in the 2026 PBA Governors’ Cup. – MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
SCHEDULE: 2026 PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals
The road to the PBA Governors’ Cup championship could be long and winding for the league’s perennial contenders.
For teams still chasing their first title, the path appears considerably clearer.
The Governors’ Cup playoffs open Sunday at Ynares Center in Antipolo, with NLEX and Phoenix beginning their best-of-five quarterfinal series at 5:15 p.m., followed by a showdown between traditional powers Magnolia and TNT at 7:30 p.m.
READ: PBA: ‘Don’t play with the game,’ Jimmy Alapag reminds NLEX
NLEX coach Jimmy Alapag hopes the Road Warriors can build on their 9-3 record, which earned them the top spot in the group stage, despite a painful loss to San Miguel Beer in which they squandered a 20-point fourth-quarter lead.
“I thought our guys competed at a high level, at a playoff-type of level, which was something that I expected and what I was looking for. We just came up a little bit short,” Alapag said.
The Road Warriors face a Phoenix squad that finished fourth in Group B at 5-5 but has struggled lately, losing four of its last five games under coach Charles Tiu.
Alapag will lean on Robert Bolick, Schonny Winston, import Deonte Burton, rookie Ljay Gonzales and the rest of his squad to end NLEX’s string of playoff disappointments.
READ: PBA: Zavier Lucero, Magnolia welcome underdog tag vs TNT
The Road Warriors lost two of their previous three quarterfinal series despite holding twice-to-beat advantages.
The winner of the NLEX-Phoenix series will advance to the semifinals against either Rain or Shine or Converge, two teams also eager to make their mark.
Rain or Shine is chasing its first PBA championship since the 2016 Commissioner’s Cup, while Converge hopes to reach the semifinals for the first time after several close calls in the quarterfinals.
The other half of the playoff bracket presents a considerably tougher route.
Magnolia and TNT begin their quarterfinal series knowing the winner will face either San Miguel or Barangay Ginebra, the sister teams that captured this season’s Philippine Cup and Commissioner’s Cup titles, respectively.
TNT, San Miguel and Ginebra have combined to win 20 of the last 22 PBA championships. Magnolia claimed one of the other two titles with its 2018 Governors’ Cup triumph.
The Hotshots are looking to end their championship drought, but standing in their way is a TNT squad hoping to hit its stride after import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson used two games to regain his rhythm.
“We just have to face it. The harder it is, the sweeter the reward,” Magnolia coach LA Tenorio said. “But it will take a lot of work playing against TNT.”