EYE ON THE TWICE-TO-BEAT QF LUXURY
Barako Bull and NLEX clash in the PBA Philippine Cup Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena, with the winner fanning the flames of an ambitious twice-to-beat playoff bid and the loser sliding dangerously close to disaster.
Both teams hold 3-6 win-loss records and are tied for 9th and 10th places. A victory at 4:15 p.m. will close the gap between the winner and 4-5 ballclubs Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Purefoods, two of the four teams currently lined up for twice-to-beat incentives in the two-phase quarterfinals.
After the top ranked teams advance to the semifinals, which virtually is a direct path to the championships considering the grueling playoffs the eight lower teams will have to go through before making it to the Final Four – a draining 7-game series – the 3rd to 6th-placed teams will need only to beat their match-up opponents in the lower half of the standings once to move to the next round.
The 7th to 10th-placed ballclubs, on the other hand, have to win twice over the higher ranks to gain passage to the crossover knockout matches – the second leg of the quarters.
Essentially, the 7th to 8th seeds will undergo three do-or-die matches before they can challenge the two outright, well-rested semifinalists.
Barako Bull and NLEX are on the same boat, and both are determined to get off before it goes under.
The Energy are coming off a 97-82 rout of expansion team Blackwater at the Ynares Center in Antipolo last week, while the Road Warriors have dropped their last two games, an excruciating 95-93 loss to Rain or Shine and a 90-84 heartbreaker to league leader Alaska.
Though a setback will short-circuit the loser’s chances of catching either Barangay Ginebra or Grand Slam champion Purefoods, it’s fate isn’t actually doomed since Kia Motors, the 11th-placed team looking to tie for the 10th and last playoff spot, still faces the daunting task of winning its last two games – against Meralco and NLEX.
The game will feature the duel between two of the PBA’s most senior players – Asi Taulava of NLEX and Mick Pennisi of Barako Bull. Taulava will be backed by Mark Cardona, KG Canaleta, Aldrech Ramos, Jonas Villanueva and Mark Borboran, while Pennisi will get help from youngsters RR Garcia,Carlo Lastimosa and Jake Pascual, as well as fellow vets Denok Miranda and JC Intal.
As much as a victory will benefit both teams, NLEX may need this more if only to recover its shattered self-esteem after allowing closing minute leads vanish in its last two games. (WJRHT)
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
