
San Miguel Beer and Meralco dispute a spot in the quarterfinals in a key showdown for positioning Saturday, March 5 in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Tipoff is set at 6:45 p.m. with the winner becoming the third team to officially clinch a quarters seat, joining the league-leading Magnolia Pambansang Manok Hotshots and NLEX Road Warriors.
Meralco sits in third spot at 6-3, but has dropped the last two outings, while San Miguel is tied for fourth with Alaska at 6-4 going into its final elimination round assignment.
A win will also assure the Bolts of a top four finish and a twice-to-beat advantage.
Serving as a subplot will be SMB import Shabazz Muhammad facing the team that was supposed to have him for this reinforced tournament.
It would be recalled that Meralco signed Muhammad prior to the start of the conference, only for the former NBA player to later back out of the deal.
Meralco wound up getting Tony Bishop, who has done a stellar job this conference but is averaging just 19.5 points in losses to Alaska and Magnolia.
San Miguel, meanwhile, looks to complete the elims with a good chance of securing the elusive bonus with Muhammad expected to build on his 33-point, 21-rebound showing in a 104-100 win over Rain or Shine.
NorthPort shoots for a fifth straight win after a 0-5 start and create more complications in the quarterfinal race when it goes up against Terrafirma in the 4 p.m. opener.
The Batang Pier will forge a three-way tie for seventh with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Phoenix Super LPG if they end up getting a victory over the struggling Dyip.
Import Jamel Artis, Robert Bolick, Arwind Santos and Jamie Malonzo will play primary roles in trying to keep NorthPort’s red-hot form.
Already out of the running for a quarters berth at 2-7, Terrafirma is only fighting not only for pride but also the role of spoiler to NorthPort’s quest to move up the ladder.