THE race for playoff berths in the PBA Philippine Cup is heating up. And one of the interesting battles is for second place at the end of the eliminations, which guarantees twice-to-beatr advantage in the quarterfinals.
With Phoenix Pulse already securing the top seed, the race is on for the final twice-to-beat spot among Rain or Shine, TNT, and Barangay Ginebra.
Here's how the three teams currently stand after TNT’s win over Columbian on Friday:
Standings
2. Rain or Shine 8-3
3. TNT 7-3
4. Barangay Ginebra 5-3
After Rain or Shine finished the elims at 8-3, it is already a given that TNT and Ginebra cannot afford to lose if they hope to have a chance at a twice-to-beat advantage.
Remaining games
Here are the remaining games of the protagonists and their opponents' current records:
Rain or Shine: NONE
TNT: NorthPort (2-6) on Sunday
Barangay Ginebra: NLEX (4-5) on Saturday; Meralco (3-7) on March 27; NorthPort (2-6) on April 3
Here’s how the seedings will play out in case of a tie among teams:
In case of a tie between Rain or Shine and TNT:
TNT will grab the twice-to-beat spot over Rain or Shine by virtue of its 100-92 win over the Elastopainters last March 3.
In case of a tie between Rain or Shine and Ginebra:
Rain or Shine will secure the No. 2 seed as the Elastopainters defeated the Kings, 83-80, last January 26 in Calasiao, Pangasinan.
In case of a three-way tie with Rain or Shine, TNT, and Ginebra
The Gin Kings will secure the second spot due to a higher point differential. Ginebra has a +8 advantage (1.05 quotient) over the two other teams with TNT at three (-3 point differential, 0.98 quotient) and Rain or Shine at four (-5 point differential, 0.97 quotient). Incidentally, the Kings’ 90-79 win over TNT on opening day last January 13 at the Philippine Arena will play a big role in the tiebreak.
* Based on the schedule, Ginebra will face teams which are fighting for their playoff lives in in NLEX, Meralco, and, depending on the result of its match against TNT, NorthPort. For TNT, it only needs to beat NorthPort to move closer to the twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.
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.
