Two critical tiffs can decide the fate of several teams as they continue to jockey for position in the homestretch of the elimination round of the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.
Columbian Dyip (4-5) looks to move closer to a quarterfinals berth as it goes toe-to-toe with Magnolia (2-4) today at 4:30 p.m., while hot-and-cold Alaska (3-3) goes up against hapless NLEX (2-5) at 7 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Considering where these playing four teams are at the moment, the four teams are facing must-win situations as they all would want a better crack at making the top eight.
After the Dyip, which is currently in seventh place, conquered a big fish in Rain or Shine in their last outing, 85-82, head coach Johnedel Cardel looks ahead as he wants his team to take care of business in their final assignments to earn a ticket in the next phase.
“We won our last game and we have two more. We need both of our last games to make sure we’ll make the quarterfinals,” said Cardel. “We’ll take it one game at a time.”
His team’s foe, Magnolia, which also earned a much-needed 103-86 win over the Aces in its last game, considers its remaining games as a do-or-die as it is still in ninth place.
“From this point on, everything is a do-or-die game for us. We can’t lose anymore,” said Hotshots coach Chito Victolero. “We talked about that and it’s already the playoffs for us, practically.”
Following its loss to the Hotshots, the Aces, who have been performing up and down thus far, hope to bounce back against the Road Warriors, who will be virtually fighting for dear life.
Alaska currently sits at No. 6, while NLEX, which is on a two-game losing streak, is at No. 11.
The Road Warriors need to sweep their remaining four games, more or less, to have a good shot at cracking the top eight.
Only the top eight teams will advance to the quarters, while the bottom four will be booted right away right after the eliminations.