Games on Wednesday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
5:00 PM – Eastern vs Nlex
7:30 PM – Ginebra vs Meralco
Games on Friday
(Phil Sports Arena)
5:00 PM – Meralco vs. Magnolia
7:30 PM – TNT vs. Rain or Shine
Defending champion San Miguel Beer (SMB) is on pins and needles as it awaits its fate in the final stretch of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinal chase.
At 5-7, the Beermen lurk outside the Magic 8 at No. 10 with two playdates left in the elimination stage and two rivals for the final playoff ticket—NLEX (5-6) and Magnolia (5-6)—in position Give them this week in their next assignments.
The Road Warriors will look to boost their last 8 ride with their sixth win on Wednesday against Hong Kong Eastern (7-4) at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, while the hotshots look to take on the Hotus Meralco (7-3) on Friday Phil Sports Arena.
A win over both NLEX and Magnolia will set them up for a knockout for No. 8 while sending SMB to the exits alongside Blackwater (3-9), Phoenix (3-9) and Terrafirma (1-11).
If one wins and the other loses, the winner will take the last bus to the post-elims, while the loser will join the Beermen during the early break.
But if both the Road Warriors and the Hotshots fall, it will be a three-way tie for eighth place and coach Leo Austria’s troops, thanks to a superior quotient (1.0120), will face NLEX (1.0051) in a rubber match for the eighth while the hotshots (0.9833) will bow.
The Beermen, who conceded a crucial 115-97 setback to TNT last Sunday, will be hoping to avoid becoming the first team in 20 years to miss the play-offs in the title retention campaign.
The last title holder to crash out of the playoffs picture was Barangay Ginebra in the 2005 Fiesta Conference.
As a franchise, SMB last failed to advance past eliminations in the 2015 Commissioners’ Cup, with a 4–7 record.
“There’s still a chance, it could be slim, but still a chance, so we’ll see how those results (NLEX and Magnolia games) go,” said SMB sniper Marcio Lassiter, whose team has struggled to get a win. find suitable imports for the Midseason tournament. – Olmin Leyba