SURPRISINGLY, Barangay Ginebra remained in the hunt for a place in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup playoffs even after an ugly 79-66 loss to Meralco on Thursday at the Don Honorio Ventura State University gym.
Despite struggling to a 4-7 win-loss card at the conclusion of the eliminations, the Gin Kings found themselves in a playoff with Phoenix for the eighth and last spot in the quarterfinals following NorthPort’s win over Alaska on Thursday.
The Batang Pier win prevented a four-way tie for eighth place among Alaska, Ginebra, Phoenix, and Terrafirma that would have left the Gin Kings out of the playoff picture once the tiebreak system was applied.
The winner of the Ginebra-Phoenix playoff will take on top-seed TNT, which will hold a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Eight.
But before that, the Gin Kings and the Fuel Masters must survive a do-or-die face-off. And both need to get their act together - and fast.
Ginebra has not had a winning streak in its defense of the title it won in last year's PBA bubble at Clark. The Gin Kings have lost two straight games for the second time after they were beaten by a Meralco team that had nothing to play for.
Phoenix isn't any better. The Fuel Masters hardly looked like a team that deserved to be in the quarterfinals after dropping two consecutive games at the conclusion of the elimination, which left it on the brink of elimination.
Ginebra comeback
In order to advance, the Fuel Masters must avoid a repeat of a 94-87 loss to Ginebra last September 15 when they allowed the Gin Kings to overcome a 19-point deficit.
Ironically, the two teams now playing off for the last spot in the playoffs were the top two teams at the end of the elimination round of last year's Clark bubble, both holding 8-3 records.
Ginebra entered the season with high hopes after acquiring Christian Standhardinger from NorthPort in exchange for Greg Slaughter, who sat out the bubble. But it has been mostly downhill for the league's most popular team since.
Worse, Ginebra is still facing the prospects of playing the do-or-die match without Japeth Aguilar and Scottie Thompson.
Aguilar has missed three straight games due to a sprained MCL, while Thompson was relegated to the injured list after entering the league's health and safety protocols, prompting Ginebra to re-activate Jeff Chan.
Stanley Pringle is also playing hurt with a knee issue, but is still playing heavy minutes in the last two games against Alaska and Meralco.
Ginebra has struggled to put points on the board this season, as it averaged just 83.1 points in the eliminations - the third worst in the league behind Rain or Shine (77.4) and last-placer Blackwater (79.4).
While the Elastopainters are the best defensive team in the league, statistically, after giving up 78.5 per outing, the Gin Kings are still allowing 88.6 points per game during the eliminations.
On Thursday, the Gin Kings looked even worse in a game against a Meralco that had didn't need the victory, falling behind, 0-8, in the first few minutes and never regaining the lead from there.
They now have two days to get their old NSD self back.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
