RAIN or Shine plays its final game of the PBA 50th Season elimination round on Friday against also-ran Titan Ultra, with a twice-to-beat advantage already in the bag.
After that game, the Elasto Painters, winners of their first seven games before losing three of their last four, will wait for their fate, as Barangay Ginebra plays TNT two days later.
Meanwhile, the match between Meralco and Terrafirma prior to the RoS-Giant Risers game will also have a say on where Rain or Shine will start come the quarterfinals.
READ: Magnolia can still steal twice-to-beat from Meralco
With NLEX already a lock as the top seed, the next three spots with playoff incentives remain up for grabs. Here's each of the seedings the Elasto Painters may find themselves in.
No. 2
Rain or Shine will take No. 2 with a win over Titan Ultra coupled with a loss by Ginebra against TNT.
In this scenario, the Elasto Painters end elims with a 9-3 record followed by the Gin Kings at 8-4. Even if Meralco sweeps its last two games to tie its standing, RoS will stay as second seed due to having defeated the Bolts, 109-102, last March 27. [Rain or Shine 9-3, Meralco 9-3/Ginebra 8-4, Ginebra 8-4/Meralco 7-5]
No. 3
Rain or Shine will get No. 3 if it wins over Titan Ultra, Ginebra wins over TNT, and Meralco wins one of its two remaining games.
The Gin Kings will finish second together with the Elasto Painters at similar 9-3 slates, with the former taking the two-seed and the latter ranking third by virtue of win-over-the-other. The Bolts land at fourth with 8-4.
RoS will still cop No. 3 even with a loss to the Giant Risers, as long as Ginebra wins against the Tropang 5G and Meralco either loses all of its remaining games or wins just one out of two.
In this case, the Gin Kings will be solo second seed at 9-3, followed by the E-Painters and Bolts, regardless of record, since the former owns the tiebreaker against the latter. [Ginebra 9-3, Rain or Shine 8-4, Meralco 8-4/7-5]
No. 4
Rain or Shine will be at No. 4 if there's a three-way tie at second-place with either 9-3 or 8-4 records. The Elasto Painters have an inferior quotient of -17 among the three squads after their 24-point loss to Ginebra and seven-point win over Meralco.
The Bolts will get No. 2 due to a +14 point differential, as the Gin Kings wind up No. 3 with a +3 point differential.
RoS will likewise be No. 4 if it loses to Titan Ultra and both Ginebra and Meralco win their remaining games. [Meralco 9-3, Ginebra 9-3, Rain or Shine 8-4]
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