WITH all the teams having played each other now in the NCAA Season 101, here’s how the playoff picture is looking at so far as the squads return to their group for the final four games of the tournament.
For a refresher of the format, no team will get eliminated after the elimination round – but the top two teams of each group will get a huge incentive as they take a twice-to-beat advantage in the crossover quarterfinals where the first seed takes on the fourth seed, and the second seed battles the third seed of the other group.
The bottom two of each group will then compete in a play-in for the final quarterfinals spot, making every game matter up until the very end.
That said, here’s where the tournament stands now after nine games.
Perpetual assured of first twice-to-beat spot in Group A
With Arellano’s 79-77 loss to Jose Rizal University on Wednesday, this gave Perpetual the first twice-to-beat spot in the tournament after going 8-1 in the first nine games.
They’re also a win away from claiming the top spot of their group.
The Chiefs, currently sitting at third place of Group A, is now at 3-6 — meaning they can’t topple the Altas even if they sweep the remaining games and the Altas lose the next four.
READ: Ivan Panapanaan on target at the buzzer to lift JRU past Arellano
That doesn’t mean that they’re out of the running though, as the second twice-to-beat incentive is pretty much up for grabs in that group.
San Sebastian, Lyceum upset wins shake things up in both groups
The unlikely wins of San Sebastian over Letran, and Lyceum over San Beda made sure that there’s only a two-game difference between being a twice-to-beat team and a play-in team in both groups.
Those wins from the bottom teams of Group A meant that there’s only two games separating the group’s current two-seed in Mapua (4-5), with both the Stags (2-7) and the Pirates (2-7).
With the Red Lions and the Knights losing to close out the cross-bracket matches, each team are separated by just one game apiece over at the Group of Death.
READ: Joshua Moralejo catches fire to lead Lyceum's upset of San Beda
San Beda is currently tied with St. Benilde as the top two teams of the group with 6-3 records, while Letran and JRU not that far behind with 5-4 records.
Emilio Aguinaldo College remains the lone team in Group B with a losing record at 4-5, but the Generals are just one good streak away from contending for a twice-to-beat spot in that group.
Group B is the ‘Group of Death’ indeed
There’s a reason why Group B was branded by fans and reporters alike as the Group of Death when the groupings were announced.
In Group A, only Perpetual had a winning record in the cross-bracket matches, going 4-1 in that stretch, with Lyceum the closest of the bunch with a 2-3 record against their counterparts.
On the flipside, no team from Group B had a losing record in that stretch with Letran going 4-1 and the rest of the pack going 3-2 in the cross-bracket match-ups.
This disparity couldn’t be highlighted any further with the fact that if Mapua (Group A #2) and EAC (Group B #5) changed places, the Generals will be in the running for a twice-to-beat while the Cardinals will be languishing in the bottom of the group.
Having a team with a losing record claim a twice-to-beat advantage over a team with a winning record in the quarterfinals is also a huge possibility at this point. Wild times.
Every game counts now in the NCAA
As mentioned above, the beauty of this format is that there will be no such thing as non-bearing games, maybe except for Perpetual who can clinch the top seed with a win over San Sebastian on Saturday.
The weekend games which pit CSB and San Beda on Friday, Letran and JRU on Saturday, and CSB and EAC on Sunday will create some separation for the ultra-tight Group B.
Mapua also gets a chance to steady the ship and strengthen its hold on the Group A twice-to-beat spot when it faces the confident Lyceum on Friday, but a win here by the Pirates will only make the race to the Group A second seed tighter.
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