THE PBA Governors’ Cup is down to the final playdate of the elimination round on Wednesday, when Alaska faces NLEX and San Miguel goes up against TNT. Both matches will still have implications on the quarterfinal cast.
Seven teams - NLEX, TNT KaTropa, Meralco, Ginebra, San Miguel, Magnolia, and NorthPort have already clinched places in the quarterfinal berths while Blackwater, Rain or Shine, and Phoenix are already out of contention.
Two squads - Alaska and Columbian - are vying for that final seat in the next round.
Here’s a rundown of the possible scenarios:
Alaska win: The Aces clinch a quarterfinal berth and will move up to seventh seed by virtue of a higher tiebreak quotient over the Batang Pier, who they in the eliminations, 106-99. The Aces will then seal a playoff with Meralco in the quarterfinals while eliminating Columbian from quarterfinal contention.
Alaska loss: The Aces will fight for the No. 8 spot with Columbian in a playoff match. Despite ending up tied with Alaska at 4-7, the Elastopainters will still bow out due to an inferior quotient. The winner of the Alaska-Colimbian playoff will play NLEX.
NLEX win: The Road Warriors take the No. 1 spot and will wait for the winner of the Alaska-Columbian playoff duel in order to determine their opponent.
NLEX loss: The Road Warriors will still get the top spot, but will play NorthPort in the quarterfinals.
TNT win: The KaTropa will end up either at No. 2 or No. 3. They get the second seed if NLEX wins its match against Alaska, or the third seed if NLEX losses.
A TNT win and an NLEX win will lead to a three-way tie with Meralco for the league's best record. But the KaTropa will beat Meralco for No. 2 due to the winner-over-the-other rule, and therefore face either NorthPort or Alaska in the quarterfinals.
A TNT win and an NLEX loss will create a three-way tie at 8-3, but NLEX gets No. 1, Meralco No. 2, and TNT No. 3. The KaTropa will take on Magnolia in the quarterfinals.
TNT loss: A defeat by the KaTropa will create a three-way tie for third place with a 7-4 win-loss record, but TNT will fall to fifth seed and will be in a twice-to-beat disadvantage in the quarterfinals despite starting out the conference with a 7-0 record. Worse, the KaTropa will take on either San Miguel or Ginebra in that quarterfinal pairing.
San Miguel win: The Beermen will move up to at least No. 4 with the victory over the KaTropa. San Miguel, however, can still climb as high as No. 3 if it defeats TNT by 14 points or more, with Ginebra dropping to No. 4 in this scenario.
San Miguel loss: The Beermen will be at No. 5 even after ending up in a tie with Magnolia, which has a 6-5 record, having beaten the Hotshots in their elimination round contest.
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