SAN Miguel is in danger of becoming the first team in nearly 20 years to miss the quarterfinals in a conference where it is the defending champion following the result of Sunday’s game in the PBA 49th Season Commissioner’s Cup.
The Beermen were routed by TNT, 115-97, to fall out of the Top Eight, their 5-7 win-loss record only three rungs above the cellar in 10th place.
If the rankings stand at the end of the eliminations, it will be the first time that a reigning titlist will miss the quarterfinal round since Barangay Ginebra in the 2005 Fiesta Conference, according to league statistics chief Fidel Mangonon.
READ RHJ delivers a triple double on idol Kobe's death anniversary
During that tournament, Ginebra lost to Red Bull in the wildcard phase to miss the playoffs after winning the 2004 edition of the import-laced conference.
San Miguel though isn’t totally out of contention for the quarterfinals, as of posting time, but its fate is no longer in its hands with NLEX and Magnolia still having one game in the elimination round.
NLEX takes on Eastern on Wednesday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum, while Magnolia faces Meralco on Friday in the final day of the eliminations at the Philsports Arena.
How can San Miguel still reach the quarterfinals
For San Miguel to even be in the conversation for the quarterfinals, NLEX and Magnolia must lose to its opponents in order to force a triple tie for eighth place with a 5-7 win-loss record. According to PBA rules, ties between eighth placers will be broken through the PBA quotient system in which the top two teams will play a knockout game for the last quarterfinal seat.
In that scenario, San Miguel will play a winner-take-all match against NLEX for the No. 8 spot since the two squads have the best quotient.
In a triple-tie scenario, San Miguel has the advantage due to its 1.0120 quotient, with NLEX coming in at second with 1.0051. Magnolia has the worst quotient among the three with 0.9833.
San Miguel, however, will be eliminated from the picture if either one of them between NLEX and Magnolia or both of them win their respective assignments.
If that happens, San Miguel will be out of the quarterfinals for the first time since the 2015 Commissioner’s Cup, ending the run of 22 straight playoffs appearances – the second longest active streak after Barangay Ginebra’s 47, according to Mangonon.
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.
