EVERYTHING will be on the line when a pair of crucial playoff games take place today to wrap up the elimination round of the 2016 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup.
It will be a battle for survival when the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and the Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters dispute the eighth seed and the last ticket to the quarters when they go toe-to-toe at 7 p.m.
The No. 4 seed and the last twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals will be on the line when the Meralco Bolts and the Mahindra Enforcer face off at 4:15 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
While Phoenix has been somewhat an unpredictable team, perennial contender Rain or Shine is struggling to get its groove so far in the tournament.
“It’s been a struggle for us all conference long but as long as we still have the chance to move forward, we will play as hard as we can,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao.
The Commissioner’s Cup champions needed to win their last game to force a playoff for the No. 8 seed. Fortunately, they routed Star, 108-97, last Friday to arrange this clash with the Fuel Masters as both squads ended up with similar 5-6 slates.
While Phoenix shoots for its first playoffs appearance as a franchise, the Painters are in a position they aren’t used to.
“This is really far from where we want to be this conference and far from where we were in the last conferences,” said Guiao.
The winner will take on relentless top seed TNT KaTropa in the next phase with a twice-to-win disadvantage.
Though there were inconsistencies in their respective campaigns, the Bolts and the Enforcer had relatively successful runs as they both ended up with a 6-5 slate.
In fact, they were each other’s last game in the classifications and Meralco came out with a tight 86-83 decision 10 days ago.
Now, another crucial encounter lies ahead as the winner will have a twice-to-beat edge in the next round. Regardless of the outcome of the match the two teams face each other again in the quarters.
“Basically, it’s a virtual best-of-three between us and Mahindra now and it’s very important to get this win against them in this encounter to gain leverage,” said Meralco coach Norman Black.
After a surprising and rousing 6-2 surge to start the conference, the youthful and feisty Enforcer lost steam late in the elimination round. The team will head to this contest on a three-game losing streak.