WITH Magnolia and NLEX perched on the top two spots, the rest of the quarterfinal aspirants continue their mad scramble for the playoffs in the last two play dates of the PBA Governors’ Cup eliminations this week.
The Hotshots (9-1) are assured of No. 1 regardless of how they do in their elims closer against winless Blackwater (0-10) tomorrow while the Road Warriors, with their 8-3 record, are beyond reach at No. 2.
Both have a lock on the twice-to-beat advantage in the Last-8 with two more incentives still up for grabs and earmarked for the third and fourth-ranked squads.
San Miguel Beer (7-4) has the inside track in the race for the two remaining win-once quarterfinal perks as it sits at third spot. But Meralco (6-4) and TnT (5-4) are in hot pursuit and can complicate things for the Beermen if they can force a triple tie at seven wins.
Barangay Ginebra, which finished the elims with 6-5, is virtually in due to its superior tie-break against teams that can potentially match its card. Alaska (6-5), meanwhile, waits for the final records of NorthPort (5-5) and Phoenix (5-5) to determine whether it has to go through a knockout.
The concerned squads make their final push tomorrow and on Friday.
The Tropang Giga take on also-ran Terrafirma (2-8) in the Wednesday curtain-raiser at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, intent on staying in play for the coveted quarterfinal edge. Two days later, the Fuel Masters and the Bolts press their respective bids in their crucial duel right before the equally pivotal clash between the Batang Pier and TnT.
Tournament format has the quarterfinal victors advancing to the best-of-five semifinal series with the last two teams standing moving on to dispute the crown in a best-of-seven affair. — Olmin Leyba