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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Interesting quarters matchups forged as elims end with twists and turns

Interesting quarters matchups forged as elims end with twists and turns

Published May 6, 2024 07:03 am

At A Glance

  • In what could be the biggest twist of the eliminations, the Hotshots found themselves in an early Manila Clasico collision with second-seed and twice-to-beat Kings in the first round of the playoffs.

After some surprising twists and turns in the final stretch of the eliminations, the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup playoff picture is now almost complete with interesting matchups forged in the quarterfinals.

 

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In what could be the biggest twist of the Philippine Cup, rivals Ginebra and Magnolia figure in an early Manila Clasico matchup in the quarterfinals. (PBA Images)

 

Outside the Top 2 spots which San Miguel and Barangay Ginebra had secured after creating an early separation from the rest of the pack, it has been a tight race for the quarterfinal slots as teams found themselves in multiple deadlocks at the middle of the standings.

More than clinching a spot to the playoffs, teams were also wary not to fall into eighth spot where they will have to play a playoff game for the last spot to formalize their playoff entry

When the dust settled, the Beermen and the Kings claimed the twice-to-beat armors with 10-1 and 7-4 records respectively, while five teams were tied from the third to the seventh spots with identical 6-5 records.

Thanks to their monumental win over the Beermen in Batangas, the Bolts avoided complications and instead took the third spot by virtue of superior quotient. TNT, behind the crucial win against Magnolia on Sunday, finished fourth followed by Rain or Shine and NLEX at fifth to sixth spot.

Due to its losses to TNT in the last day of elims, Magnolia, which holds an inferior quotient due to the blowout loss to Meralco, fell to as low as the seventh spot.

In what could be the biggest twist of the eliminations, the Hotshots found themselves in an early Manila Clasico collision with second seed and twice-to-beat Kings in the first round of the playoffs.

Over at the other bracket, SMB is still awaiting its opponent with Terrafirma and NorthPort, which ended up tied at the eighth and ninth spots with 5-6 slates, battling for the last place in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, May 8.

In the best-of-three series, it will be youth against experience in the clash between the Elasto Painters and the Tropang Giga. 

ROS will be banking on the young legs of its youthful core led by Andrei Caracut and Santi Santillan while TNT is expected to lean on the veteran wits and poise of the likes of Jayson Castro and Kelly Williams.

The other pairing, meanwhile, is an interesting sibling rivalry between Meralco and NLEX. The defense oriented Bolts, who were the only team to put the clamps down on the juggernaut of the Beermen in the eliminations, will be challenged by the Road Warriors’ heart and soul in Robert Bolick who currently leads the league in scoring at the end of the eliminations.


 

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