NLEX is at the top of the PBA 50th Season Commissioner's Cup leaderboard heading to its final game of the elimination around against Titan Ultra on Tuesday.
At first glance, the Road Warriors seemed to have already secured the No. 1 spot in the quarterfinals owing to their 9-2 win-loss record. NLEX has also defeated Barangay Ginebra (8-3), Rain or Shine (8-3), and Meralco (7-3) - the teams that occupy the next three spots in the standings.
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A closer look, however, shows that NLEX can still lose the No. 1 seed in the event of a four-way tie for first place with a 9-3 win-loss record. That happens if NLEX loses to Titan Ultra, and Barangay Ginebra, Rain or Shine, and Meralco win all their remaining games.
If this occurs, Meralco will actually snatch the No. 1 seed away from NLEX, under the PBA quotient system in which the results of the games will serve as the first tiebreaker. This is due to a 1.0362 quotient or +11 point differential of Meralco with the Bolts' quotient was padded by their 21-point victory over Ginebra last Sunday.
The Bolts' 112-91 win over the Gin Kings offset the three-point defeat to NLEX and a seven-point loss to Rain or Shine.
NLEX beat Ginebra (118-113), Rain or Shine (92-90), and Meralco (104-101), but the Road Warriors won all those games in close fashion, resulting in a +10 point differential and a 1.0329 quotient for the Road Warriors.
NLEX will take the No. 2 in this scenario, with Ginebra at No. 3 with a 0.9938 quotient and -2 point differential, and Rain or Shine at No. 4 with a 0.9383 quotient and -19 point differential.
If NLEX has aspirations to secure the No. 1 seed, they must win against Titan Ultra on Tuesday. As to which team they will possibly face in the quarterfinals, that's another story.
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