THE PBA 50th Season Commissioner's Cup is nearing the home stretch and the race for positioning for quarterfinal berths is heating up.
With the chase for seedings mostly close, it wouldn't be a bad idea to take a look at the possible quarterfinal pairings at this point of the conference.
To determine that, let's assume that the elimination round ended after the April 22 playing date. As of publishing time, here are the team standings:
As of April 22
Rain or Shine 7-1
NLEX 6-2
Meralco 5-2
Barangay Ginebra 5-2
Phoenix Super LPG 5-3
TNT 5-3
Magnolia 4-4
San Miguel 4-5
Terrafirma 3-5
Converge 3-6
Titan Ultra 2-6
Blackwater 2-6
Macau 1-7
If the playoffs started today, which teams will be meeting each other in the quarters, where the top four teams boast of a twice-to-beat advantage? Let's take a look.
NLEX (2) VS. MAGNOLIA (7)
NLEX winds up No. 2 with a 6-2 record. That means the Road Warriors will battle Magnolia, which is in solo seventh at 4-4. NLEX defeated the Hotshots, 112-105, in their March 15 tussle.
MERALCO (3) VS. TNT (6)
Meralco is currently in a tie with Barangay Ginebra at 5-2 and third. But since they haven't played head-to-head, the next tiebreaker will be overall quotient. In this scenario, the Bolts take No. 3 due to a superior overall quotient and a +40 overall point differential.
No. 6 will then be TNT, which is in joint fifth with Phoenix Super LPG at 5-3. They haven't faced each other as well, so we go to another tiebreaker. The Tropang 5G have the inferior quotient and a +32 point point differential.
Meralco defeated TNT, 110-106, in their April 7 ball game.
BARANGAY GINEBRA (4) VS. PHOENIX SUPER LPG (5)
Ginebra therefore gets No. 4 and the last twice-to-beat incentive. The Gin Kings have a +38 point differential.
Phoenix will check in at No. 5 because of a superior quotient than TNT and a +47 point differential.
The Gin Kings beat the Fuel Masters, 109-96, in their April 12 clash.
RAIN OR SHINE (1) VS. SAN MIGUEL (8)
Rain or Shine has been outstanding so far, winning its first seven games - so much so that its recent defeat to Phoenix didn't even affect its first-place ranking with a 7-1 record.
However, if the playoffs started today, the Elasto Painters will be up against a dangerous San Miguel side, being the eighth seed.
The Beermen have been on-and-off with a 4-5 record due to issues with imports. But Bennie Boatwright has returned and if there is one team that can overcome a twice-to-win disadvantage, it's mighty SMB.
Still, RoS has already proven it has what it takes to beat San Miguel, as it came away with a 116-112 result last April 8.
Keep in mind once again that these are all what ifs. A lot of things can change in the final weeks of elims. So just stay tuned.
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