THERE is now a strong likelihood that NLEX, Barangay Ginebra, and Titan Ultra will be picking first, second, and third in that order in the PBA Season 51 Draft on January 17 following the results of Saturday’s game.
Blackwater’s slim 125-123 defeat to Rain or Shine on Saturday has left the Bossing on the brink of elimination in the season-ending PBA Governors' Cup with a 3-6 win-loss record - good for last place in Group B.
Ahead of Blackwater is fourth-placer Meralco (4-6) and fifth-ranked Ginebra with a 3-5 win-loss mark, with the three teams disputing the last quarterfinal spot.
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Blackwater still has a slim chance at making the quarterfinals despite the loss, but everything must fall into place. The Bossing need Ginebra to lose to Phoenix Super LPG on Sunday before beating Ginebra on Friday in blowout fashion.
If it fails to qualify, Blackwater will likely end up in the 10th and 11th spots for the conference - enough to secure the No. 1 pick in the Season 51 draft, based on unofficial computations. But Blackwater’s first-round pick is owned by NLEX as part of the Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser trade last February 2024.
Terrafirma beat Titan Ultra, 149-117, assuring that the Dyip will finish ninth in the Governors’ Cup with a 5-7 win-loss record, and will likely pick at No. 2 in the draft.
The Dyip’s draft right, however, is owned by Ginebra, which obtained it as part of the deal that sent Maverick Ahanmisi to the Dyip last October 2025.
Titan Ultra’s loss put the Giant Risers in 12th place in the Governors’ Cup, and will likely give them the No. 3 pick in the Season 51 Draft.
The draft order is determined via a computation in which rankings in each of the three conferences are given weight with 40 percent assigned to the Philippine Cup and 30 percent to the Commissioner’s and Governors’ Cup.
Unofficial computations to determine the draft order actually have Terrafirma and Titan Ultra tallying 10.5. But based on a precedent that the Philippine Cup ranking served as a tiebreaker in determing the draft order, the Dyip will get the No. 2 after finishing 12th and last in the all-Filipino conference.
That draft order, however, can still change if Blackwater somehow sneaks into the quarterfinals of the season's final conference.
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