Meralco, NLEX kick off PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals
Games Friday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
4:30 p.m. — NLEX vs Meralco
7:30 p.m. — TNT vs Rain or Shine
THEY fought very hard amid a challenging elimination round to get to the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals.
Now the task is on Meralco, TNT, Rain or Shine (ROS) and NLEX to make it count and take it to the next level.
The third-seeded Bolts and the No. 6 Road Warriors race to land the first blow in the short best-of-three series as they open playoffs hostilities Friday at 4:30 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The fourth-ranked Tropang Giga and the No. 5 Elasto Painters then dispute the head start in their own race-to-two contest at 7:30 p.m.
The four squads have survived a tight chase for Last-8 spots that saw them and Magnolia finish with identical 6-5 cards in a heavy logjam behind Top 2 San Miguel Beer or SMB (10-1) and Barangay Ginebra (7-4).
After the tiebreak, Meralco, TNT, ROS and NLEX landed in the safe zone as the Hotshots fell to No. 7 with a twice-to-win handicap against the Gin Kings. Terrafirma completed the cast with a 104-96 disposal of NorthPort in Wednesday’s KO for No. 8 and a date with the mighty Beermen.
The protagonists in the quarterfinal opener all needed big closing victories in the preliminaries to progress.
Meralco toppled SMB, 95-92, while NLEX took down Ginebra, 76-72, to clinch their spots and avoid going through a sudden death for the last seat.
TNT and ROS faced similar situations and responded with clinching wins over Magnolia, 98-93, and NLEX, 120-104, respectively.
NLEX, which advanced after climbing out of a four-game skid, braces for war against Meralco, the giant-killing team that has won five of its last seven matches.
Meanwhile, TNT coach Chot Reyes underscored the importance of getting all hands on deck against Rain or Shine.
“I think Rain or Shine, outside of San Miguel, they’re the hottest team in the league. They’ve won six of their last seven games and last time we played them, we barely beat them. The only way we can compete with them is if everyone is involved,” said Mr. Reyes. — Olmin Leyba
