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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Titans TNT, Ginebra, SMB jockey for pole position in final elims day

Titans TNT, Ginebra, SMB jockey for pole position in final elims day

Published Mar 17, 2023 02:01 am
The quarterfinals cast has been completed but the entire playoff picture has yet to be determined as league’s titans San Miguel, Barangay Ginebra and TNT jockey for positions atop the standings in the final game day of eliminations on Friday, March 17, at the PhilSports Arena.

*Ginebra coach Tim Cone (from the left), SMB coach Jorge Gallent and TNT coach Jojo Lastimosa hope to steer their teams to a top seed finish. (PBA Images)

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Interestingly, the three teams are also set to wrap up their elimination schedules with the Beermen taking on the also-ran Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the opening game at 3 p.m. while the marquee collision between the Kings and the Tropang Giga follows suit at 5:45 p.m. So far, only the quarters matchup between No.4 seed Meralco and No. 5 Magnolia is cast in stone following SMB's 120-106 victory over NLEX. The Bolts, the Hotshots and the Road Warriors are actually tied with identical 7-4 records but NLEX slid down to No. 6 due to an inferior quotient. Converge and NorthPort are at the seventh and eighth spots, respectively, and are still waiting for their quarters opponent which will heavily depend on the results of the final two games. The Beermen looked good even in the absence of June Mar Fajardo with Cameron Clark, CJ Perez and Simon Enciso sharing the load in the win against Road Warriors. No pushovers, however, are the Elasto Painters who, despite playing all-Filipino, are surely gunning for a strong finish to the season. Meanwhile in the main event, TNT looks to solidify its place as the top seed against the defending champion Ginebra. The Tropang Giga seemed to have put the disastrous EASL Champions Week campaign behind as import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and RR Pogoy led TNT's offensive display in its 134-110 demolition of NorthPort. Although admittedly beating a champion team like the Kings would give them some momentum heading into the playoffs, Tropang Giga head coach Jojo Lastimosa is refusing to put too much weight on their titanic showdown. "No.1 or No. 2, it doesn't really matter to me. It’s just nice to win against Ginebra but it’s still the elimination game. Even if we win against Ginebra it doesn’t mean that we are going to go deep into the playoffs. What I’m trying to say is it’s just one game, nagkataon lang na Ginebra 'yun, I’m sure it’s gonna be a nice game to watch and to play in," said Lastimosa.

Related Tags

San Miguel Beermen Jojo Lastimosa TNT Tropang Giga PBA Playoffs Tim Cone Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Jorge Gallent
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