TNT's loss to Magnolia on Tuesday opened a possibility that the Tropang 5G can slip down to No. 8 in the quarterfinals of the PBA 50th Season Commissioner's Cup.
The Tropang 5G's 106-94 defeat at the hands of the Hotshots was their second loss in three outings, dragging their win-loss record down to 6-5.
The fifth and eighth placers in the team standings after Tuesday's matches look like this:
Phoenix Super LPG 6-4
Magnolia 6-5
TNT 6-5
San Miguel 5-5
TNT closes the eliminations on Sunday against Barangay Ginebra at the Mall of Asia Arena and another defeat could leave the reigning champions near the bottom of the eight-team quarterfinal.
TNT could end up as the solo eighth placer at the end of the eliminations with another loss with a 6-6 slate, a San Miguel win in its two remaining games beginning on Wednesday against Terrafirma to go up to 7-5, and a Magnolia win over Meralco on Sunday to also move up to 7-5.
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Even if TNT somehow ends up in a tie with Magnolia for seventh place on a 6-6 slate, it is still going down to No. 8 by virtue of the winner-over-the-other rule.
Same goes if TNT ends up tied with Magnolia and Phoenix Super LPG at 6-6 since the Tropang 5G lost to both of them and therefore have a -15 point differential.
In the event of an eighth-seed for TNT, the Tropang 5G would have to win twice against NLEX, which already booked the No. 1 after its overtime win over Titan Ultra earlier in the day.
TNT must win over Barangay Ginebra to avoid such possibility.
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