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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Day of reckoning: Magnolia, TNT test luck on crucial Friday the 13th duel

Day of reckoning: Magnolia, TNT test luck on crucial Friday the 13th duel

Published Jun 12, 2025 02:52 pm

At A Glance

  • The race to the last three spots for the quarterfinals incentives remains wide open with two teams, the previously league-leading Magnolia and the grand-slam seeking TNT, locking horns in the crucial Friday, June 13 matchup in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The race to the last three spots for the quarterfinals incentives remains wide open with two teams, the previously league-leading Magnolia and the grand-slam seeking TNT, locking horns in the crucial Friday, June 13 matchup in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The luck of the Hotshots and the Tropang 5G will be put to a test on Friday the 13th as they face what could be the day of reckoning for their respective campaigns in the 7:30 p.m. affair.
A battle for pride between Phoenix and Blackwater provides the fitting appetizer at 5 p.m.
Magnolia, which went off to a hot start in the conference but was struggling as of late, suddenly found itself barely clinging on its chance for a win-once bonus in the quarterfinals after falling to the third spot with a 7-3 record.
TNT, on the other hand, experienced the opposite as it recovered from a 0-3 start to the conference, stringing together six consecutive wins before getting tripped in its last game against Ginebra for a 6-4 slate.
Between the two teams, the path to claiming the win-once bonus looks clearer for the Hotshots as they only need a victory against the Tropang 5G to reach the eight-win mark that will assure them a spot in the Top 4.
It is much more complicated for TNT.
By all indications, the Tropang 5G not only is needing a blowout victory over the Hotshots but also a little help from the Barangay Ginebra Kings in their match against Rain or Shine in the last day of the eliminations on Sunday.
A simple win against Magnolia cannot assure TNT a Top 4 spot as such a scenario would only forge a three-way deadlock from the fourth to sixth spot along with Converge.
The Hotshots will then hold the edge in terms of the quotient thanks to their 83-71 win over the FiberXers. It also did not help that the Tropang 5G also dropped a 94-100 decision to the FiberXers so it is almost imperative for TNT to win by a wide margin.
But that scenario could only become favorable for TNT if Ginebra also wins against ROS.
A Ginebra loss to Rain or Shine would lock a five-team tie from the fourth spot to the seventh spot with the Kings and the Elasto Painters joining the Tropang 5G, Hotshots and FiberXers at similar 7-4 records.
Such a case would further hurt TNT's chances as it lost big against Ginebra, 78-97, dragging its quotient further down.
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