In the final playdate of the elimination round, the fate and survival of several teams remain hanging in the balance as a pair of games will decide their fates in the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.
Already locked at No. 3, Barangay Ginebra (7-3) aims to keep its momentum as it heads to the post-season, facing rejuvenated NorthPort (4-6) at 7 p.m. today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum while opening hostilities will be the critical tiff between Magnolia (5-5) and NLEX (4-6) at 4:30 p.m.
While the Gin Kings, the league’s hottest team with four straight wins, can afford to breathe, the other three teams seeing action cannot.
The Batang Pier, Hotshots, and Road Warriors are all facing must-win situations.
Magnolia needs to win to ensure it stays inside the top six and it plays a best-of-three series in the next round instead of facing a twice-to-win disadvantage.
If NorthPort and NLEX both emerge victorious, the cast of the quarterfinals will then be completed outright as both of them will take the remaining two spots in the bus.
In the event both or either the Batang Pier and/or the Road Warriors lose, Alaska will stay alive and will have a chance to earn a spot via playoff against either of the two teams.
In case of a three-way tie between either NorthPort, NLEX and Alaska, who can all end up tied at 4-7 with only two remaining berths available, there will be a playoff to complete the quarterfinal cast.
For a three-way tie, the team with the highest quotient takes the No. 7 seed, while the last ticket to the quarters will be decided in a playoff.
The Aces, who can only enter the quarterfinals if they can figure in a do-or-die playoff, are hoping for favorable results involving the Batang Pier and the Road Warriors as they no longer have their fate in their hands. They are hoping that at least on of those teams can lose for them to have a window of opportunity.
Columbian is already out of contention due to an inferior quotient.
Even though the game against the Batang Pier is a non-bearing one for the streaking Gin Kings, Ginebra playmaker LA Tenorio still considers it an important one heading to the playoffs.
“We still have to play hard and play our game,” said Tenorio of Ginebra’s approach. “We need to have a good momentum going to the playoffs and we need this game, especially after the All-Star break.”
Ginebra will play either Magnolia or NLEX in the next round, depending of the result of the final game.