IT didn’t take long for Northport and TNT to clinch berths in the semifinals of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
The top two seeded teams advanced to the next round on Thursday when they disposed their respective quarterfinal opponents.
The top seeded Batang Pier showed the Magnolia Hotshots the door, 113-110, while the No. 2 Tropang Giga sent guest team Eastern home, 109-93.
As the top two teams after the eliminations, Northport and TNT own twice-to-beat advantage against the No. 8 Hotshots and No. 7 Eastern.
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Now, the two await their semifinals opponent.
The Batang Pier will meet the winner of the Barangay Ginebra-Meralco best-of-three series, while TNT takes on the survivor of the Rain or Shine-Converge tussle.
Here are some of the takeaways in the second playdate of the quarterfinals held at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
1. NORTHPORT IN SEMIS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SIX YEARS – it’s been six years, or since the 2019 Governors’ Cup, when the Batang Pier last made the semifinals. That was one memorable moment for the franchise as it had to beat top seed NLEX twice in a row to advance, including their do-or-die encounter that needed triple overtime to decided It’s been so long that only Paolo Taha remains in the team from that 2019 batch, while Christian Standhardinger, Sol Mercado, and Garvo Lanete have since retired.
2. ARVIN TOLENTINO SOLIDIFIES SHOT AT WINNING FIRST EVER BPC AWARD – it’s the closest the Northport forward could go to his very first Best Player of the Conference award. By making the semis, Tolentino is now an outright candidate for the individual honor where he currently ranks second behind San Miguel’s June Mar Fajardo. But with the Beermen already out as well as the NLEX Road Warriors, whose main man Robert Bolick is running third, Tolentino boosted his chance at claiming the title. Running fourth is TNT’s Calvin Oftana, followed by Converge rookie Jordan Heading.
3. NO SAN MIGUEL AND MAGNOLIA IN SEMIS – rare is this moment when two of the winningest franchises in PBA history are not in the semifinals. San Miguel failed to reach the playoffs, while Magnolia’s stint was short lived, leaving Barangay Ginebra as the only team from the SMC bloc still in the hunt for the mid-season championship. So when was the last time such incidence took place? According to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III, it happened during the 2020 Philippine Cup bubble in Clark, Pampanga. Back then, both the Beermen and Hotshots reached the playoffs, but were booted out by Meralco and Phoenix, respectively.
4. EASTERN TO REASSESS ITS PRIORITIES – the guest team from Hong Kong learned its lesson the hard way. One really can’t serve two masters. In Eastern’s case, it's three – at the same time. Playing in three different leagues all at the same time took its toll on the franchise and ended up both being booted out of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup playoffs and in the race for a Final Four spot in the East Asia Super League (EASL). Now it is left to compete in the Hong Kong A1 Division Championship. Coach Mensur Bajramovic admitted it was a tough task his team had to go through and suggested for the team to evaluate the season schedule of all three leagues and from there, arrange how it can have a more suitable timetable without sacrificing their fitness.
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