WHAT PLAYOFF BONUS?
The PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals pairings look too close to call—and a little playoff protection might offer very little comfort.
Top seed San Miguel Beer battles No. 8 Meralco, the defending champion it lost to last season. No. 2 NLEX takes on dangerous No. 7 Rain or Shine. No. 3 Magnolia takes on Grand Slam-seeking TNT. And No. 4 Barangay Ginebra tests fired-up No. 5 Converge.
Playoff action begins on Wednesday at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City with the NLEX-Rain or Shine contest at 5 p.m., followed by the Magnolia-TNT tussle at 7:30 p.m. Those pairings were sealed only after the final elimination playdate late Sunday evening.
The Beermen, Road Warriors, Hotshots and Gin Kings all finished with 8-3 records to take the top four slots, with their rankings determined by quotient.
The matchups are interesting, to say the least, and the top half of the draw can’t be blamed if they look at their twice-to-beat advantage as more of a survival card than a mental hurdle for their opponents.
“There’s no reason for us to pick an opponent because all of the teams are capable of winning the title,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero before its playoff affair with TNT was determined.
Friday’s other quarterfinal pairings at Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila feature the San Miguel-Meralco meeting and the Ginebra-Converge showdown.
“They have a good system so we have to match their energy,” Beermen star CJ Perez said of the Bolts. “If we focus on our defense, then our offense will come. We have to improve our ball pressure, our transition defense because Meralco is a team that loves to run.”
Deciders, if necessary, are set on Saturday at Ninoy and/or Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Magnolia defeated TNT, 88-83, last week to secure the twice-to-beat. But the Hotshots had to lean on a decisive run led by Zavier Lucero and veteran Rafi Reavis to take a big lead before warding off the Tropang 5G’s comeback.
San Miguel downed Meralco, 110-98, during the retro-themed 50th birthday of the league at Rizal Memorial Coliseum on April 9. The Bolts rallied in the third before June Mar Fajardo anchored the Beermen to a fourth-quarter breakaway.
Blowout results
“It’s a good opportunity for us to come together and achieve the semis even with a twice-to-beat disadvantage,” Luigi Trillo told the Inquirer on Sunday
The two other matchups were blowout results in the eliminations, though that may not be the case this time.
NLEX handled Rain or Shine a losing start to the tournament with a 109-95 victory on April 12 as rookie Xyrus Torres went for 28 points on 11 of 12 shooting from the field.
Ginebra dominated Converge, 85-66, on May 10 in San Fernando, Pampanga, as Japeth Aguilar showed the way despite facing the twin tower combo of Justin Arana and rookie Justine Baltazar.
Converge placed fifth at 7-4 while TNT was sixth despite a three-way tie at 6-5 with Rain or Shine and Meralco, also due to having a better quotient.
