Alaska has a tough obstacle to climb in order to secure a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals when it battles league-leading Magnolia Pambansang Manok on Sunday, March 6 in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Aces can secure the bonus that would help extend the franchise’s stint in the pro league for at least two more games with a win over the Hotshots in the 4 p.m. match.
Magnolia, with an 8-1 record, has already secured the top seed in the next phase of the season-ending conference, but is keen on trying to gain more momentum before the eliminations come to an end.
A 104-99 loss to Phoenix Super LPG last Thursday left Alaska in a must-win situation after falling to 6-4, tied for fourth with slumping Meralco which absorbed a shock 115-110 loss to San Miguel Beer despite a 26-point lead.
Alaska and Meralco are behind SMB with a 7-4 mark to end the elims and closely ahead of TNT at 5-4 and three teams sharing identical 5-5 slates in Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, Phoenix and NorthPort.
Ginebra, already out of twice-to-beat considerations, looks to end the elims with a victory opposite Rain or Shine at 6:45 p.m.
The Gin Kings are coming off a disappointing 115-103 loss to the NLEX Road Warriors that continued the defending champions’ struggles after a 3-0 start.
Getting a victory may prevent Ginebra from falling in danger of having to go through a playoff for the eighth and final quarters berth.
But that doesn’t mean that the Gin Kings are out of the woods since they still have to wait for the results of the remaining games to determine the ties needed to determine the quarterfinal seedings.
ROS wraps up a conference that was marred by a four-game skid that sent its record to 3-7.