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    News you need to know: PBA playoffs, Sol Mercado update and more

    News you need to know: PBA playoffs, Sol Mercado update
    Mar 8, 2022
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    Sol Mercado is back from the US and visited Tim Cone in the Ginebra dugout.

    Mercado, Ginebra update

    Sol MercadoSol Mercado is back from the US.

    IS Sol Mercado rejoining Ginebra?

    The retired star guard, back from a US vacation, spoke with coach Tim Cone in the Ginebra dugout ahead of the Gin Kings’ final elimination-round game against Rain or Shine, which fueled talk of a comeback.

    Cone, however, said it may be a little late in the conference for that.

    “We’re battling a lot of injuries earlier, we might have been able to pick him up,” said Cone. “But he was in the States and there wasn’t that opportunity.”

    Cone noted there is no roster spot right now for Mercado, with 20 players on the payroll.

    Ginebra had backcourt trouble early, with Stanley Pringle being able to play only in the opener of the Governors’ Cup then was shut down due to a knee injury.

    “So you got Stanley’s numbers are out, you got the other guys whose numbers are out of the cap, but still, you’re paying all that extra money and then you want to bring in another guy and pay him? It becomes a little bit prohibitive,” Cone added.

    The Gin Kings ended the eliminations with a 6-5 record, in the bottom half of the quarterfinals.

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    Tough situation for Bolts

    Norman Black Meralco timeoutMeralco needs only to win against Phoenix to secure a twice-to-beat advantage.

    MERALCO could still get a twice-to-beat advantage, or drop to a playoff for No. 8 in the PBA Governors’ Cup.

    The Bolts can end up in a playoff for the eighth and last quarterfinal seat with a loss to Phoenix coupled with a TNT win over Terrafirma on Wednesday and a TNT loss to NorthPort on Friday.

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    Such a scenario will lead to a six-way tie for fourth place among Ginebra, Alaska, TNT, NorthPort, Phoenix, and Meralco on 6-5 records. In such a case, the quotient, which is based on the winning margins of all teams involved in a tie, will determine the seedings.

    Unfortunately for Meralco, the Bolts, with a loss to the Fuel Masters, will have a record of 1-4 against those teams involved in the tie, already a disadvantage in the quotient system. Worst, Meralco lost badly to NorthPort by 11 points, 109-98, last February 17 - a result that will push down its quotient further.

    Entering the week’s matches, Meralco is -15 in point differential, the worst among the six teams, so a playoff for No. 8 could be a possibility for the Bolts.

    Still, Meralco needs only to win against Phoenix to secure twice-to-beat advantage and a possible No. 4 seed.

    Even if TNT sweeps its last two games and force a three-way tie for third with San Miguel, Meralco will still book a twice-to-beat due to superior quotients. The Tropang Giga will get No. 3, while the Bolts will take No. 4 on superior quotients of 1.0732 and 0.9897. The Bolts at No. 4, however, might put them in a collision again with San Miguel, a possible No. 5, under this situation.

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    EJ Obiena, Patafa meet

    EJ Obiena Weltklasse ZurichEJ Obiena has qualified for the World Idoors, but has yet to get the endorsement of the local federation.

    THE Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association and pole vaulter EJ Obiena finally met in a Philippine Sports Commission-organized mediation on Monday.

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    Obiena has been at odds with Patafa after the federation conducted an investigation over alleged failure of the Olympian to pay the salaries of his coach Vitaly Petrov.

    The controversy has dragged on for four months, resulting in investigations by the Senate and the House of Representatives.

    Juico has been declared persona non-grata by the Philippine Olympic Committee general assembly for "harrassment" to the Filipino Olympian.

    Even with the controversy, Obiena continued to compete in various meets in Europe where he has set new personal.

    The start of the mediation comes a day after Obiena reset his new national record after clearing 5.91 meters in his second-place finish in a competition with France.

    As the government sports agency, the PSC has offered to mediate since last December.

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      Sol Mercado is back from the US and visited Tim Cone in the Ginebra dugout.
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