New PBA format does away with dull games
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Basketball Association hopes to heighten the excitement by eliminating two teams per tournament, doing away with low-energy matches when the Philippine Cup takes the lid off of the league’s 36th Season on Oct. 3 at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Asia’s first play-for-pay league, reeling from spiraling television ratings and live gate receipts, will re-adopt an old format in the elimination round in order to forge tougher game days.
The past several seasons saw the league ousting just the tail-ending team in the long elimination round before playing a wildcard series to precede the actual start of the playoffs.
Starting with the Philippine Cup, the last two teams in the standings will get the boot and all of the others will advance to the quarterfinals with the two teams with the best record gaining an advantage of needing to win just once to make the Final Four.
Such was the tried and tested formula that the PBA adopted in its most glorious years, matching up the top eight teams after the elimination round to draw more live bodies to the games and spike television ratings.
The Nos. 1 and 2 teams will draw the eight- and seventh-ranked teams, respectively in the quarterfinals, with the lower ranked squads needing two straight wins to make it to the next phase.
The other quarterfinal pairings will have No. 3 clashing with No. 6 and No. 4 colliding with No. 5 in best-of-three series with the winner of the No. 3 vs No. 6 match-up marching on to face the winner of the No. 2 vs No. 7 quarterfinal pairing.
Newcomer Meralco, under Ryan Gregorio, will start the ball rolling when the B-Boys battle crowd-darling Barangay Ginebra in the only game scheduled on opening day.
Defending champion Derby Ace, Gregorio’s former squad, will see action on Oct. 6 against Talk ‘N Text, the champion two seasons ago which will play its first tournament after the Mac Cardona era.
Rain or Shine versus Powerade (formerly Coca-Cola) is the other match slated in the second day even as the league travels to Batangas City on Oct. 9 with the Tigers clashing with the Gin Kings.
