NLEX is on track to secure the No. 1 seed in the PBA 50th Season Commissioner's Cup, which means the Road Warriors are facing the prospect of playing teams that have been in their position before in the quarterfinals.
Possible foes for the top seed in the quarterfinals are either Magnolia or San Miguel, which are currently tied at seventh place in the leaderboard with the Hotshots holding the edge in the event a tiebreak in required.
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If the elimination round ended on Sunday, NLEX will be up against San Miguel, the reigning champions of the Philippine Cup, whose road to the title included beating the Road Warriors, in the quarterfinals in a 1 vs. 8 match-up.
For the Commissioner's Cup, the 1 vs. 8 clash could be the same teams, only this time, it is going to be the other way around.
NLEX clinched a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals after overcoming Converge, 100-81, last Saturday to improve to 9-2 (win-loss).
But with a possible SMB clash on the horizon, NLEX coach Jong Uichico knows the difficult road they will have to go through, even with the playoff incentive.
“We talk about that. Kapag nasa taas yung mahihina, nasa baba yung malalakas. Pag nasa taas yung malalakas, nasa baba (yung mahihina). Wala kang lulugaran eh. If you are at the top, that means the strong teams are below, yung mga nag-champion already,” said Uichico.
“Ang ano lang diyan is where do you want to be. Do you want to be at the top and have a twice-to-beat [edge] against the championship teams that have been there or do you want to be at the bottom or [need to] win twice [againt] the championship teams,” Uichico said.
Uichico said NLEX would rather be in the position it is in right now where his team only needs one victory to progress.
“Mahirap lumugar sa amin kasi baguhan kami dito. Sila, naka-ilang championships na,” he added. “But, of course, we will take this position anytime.”
With one week left in the elimination round, NLEX intends to finish strong in the eliminations and bring that momentum to the quarterfinals, regardless of who their opponent will be.
NLEX stakes its three-game winning streak against Titan Ultra on Tuesday.
“Still to win the game. Even non-bearing na rin pero still, we'd like to come in with the mindset of doing the right things whether may bearing o wala yung laro,” said Uichico.
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