TNT and Magnolia in must-win duel as elimination winds up

Games on Tuesday
(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)
5:15 p.m. – NLEX vs Titan
7:30 p.m. – TNT vs Magnolia

USUALLY, at this point of the conference, heavyweights TNT and Magnolia are already safely perched on the playoffs.

But with their struggles in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup, the Tropang 5G and the Hotshots found themselves in precarious situations as the elimination round winds up.

Defending champion TNT sits at sixth with a 6-4 card, requiring one final surge to secure their place in the Magic 8. Ditto with Magnolia, which runs seventh with 5-5 going to the last week of the preliminaries.

With only four quarters tickets up for grabs and five teams still in the hunt, the two contenders are in a must-win duel at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Drop this one and there’s the added pressure of needing a W in their respective closeout slates all the while hoping the squad’s final record would be enough to send them through, especially with ties for No. 8 to be broken through quotients.

The Bol Bol-led Tropang 5G hit a roadblock in both sealing their Last-8 march and contending for the Top 4 when they dropped a 100-97 shocker to Phoenix last Friday.

With a high seeding and win-once bonus virtually beyond reach, it’s all about making the quarters now for TNT.

“We have to be prepared to beat somebody twice,” said coach Chot Reyes, whose crew have lost two of their last three outings “We have to be ready to beat somebody twice.”

The Hotshots are looking to make the quarters after overcoming a 0-3 start.

“I always remind the team that every game now is very important,” said Magnolia mentor LA Tenorio, whose wards face two titans in TNT and quarters-bound Meralco in the stretch. “But the good news is we still control our own destiny. We just have to take care of every game. Let’s see what will happen at the end of the eliminations.”

Meanwhile, streaking NLEX (9-2) shoots for the No. 1 seed as it takes on also-ran Titan Ultra (2-8) in the 5:15 p.m. opening game.

The Road Warriors are already assured of the quarterfinal bonus no matter what but they want to go into the next round with momentum and confidence from a four-match streak. — Olmin Leyba