Mad scramble to advance

Only 13 games are left in the PBA Philippine Cup eliminations and the only sure things are Blackwater is out of playoff contention with a 0-9 record (excluding the result of yesterday’s game against Talk ‘N’ Text) and eight teams are assured of advancing to the next stage.

On top of the heap are Alaska and San Miguel Beer with identical 8-1 marks. The Aces beat the Beermen, 66-63, last Nov. 5 so in case they remain tied at the end of the eliminations for No. 1, Alaska takes the higher seeding. All ties will be settled via the quotient system so there will be no playoffs to break logjams. That’s the reason why teams are piling up points and foregoing the practice of playing out the last seconds of a game without making an attempt.

Without taking into account yesterday’s result, here’s how the teams stack up in terms of ranking: No. 1 Alaska, No. 2 San Miguel Beer, No. 3 Rain Or Shine, No. 4 Barangay Ginebra, No. 5 Talk ‘N’ Text, No. 6 Purefoods, No. 7, Meralco, No. 8 Globalport, No. 9 NLEX, No. 10 Barako Bull, No. 11 Kia and No. 12 Blackwater.

The top two finishers of the eliminations automatically gain semifinal slots. The last two placers take an early vacation. The eight other teams battle in the quarterfinals where No. 3 takes on No. 10, No. 4 against No. 9, No. 5 against No. 8 and No. 6 against No. 7. The higher seeds (3, 4, 5 and 6) will enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage which is a major edge.

Two games remain in the calendars of Alaska and San Miguel Beer. The Aces face Ginebra on Tuesday and Rain Or Shine on Friday while the Beermen engage Talk ‘N’ Text on Friday and Blackwater on Dec. 9. If Alaska and San Miguel Beer lose their last two outings and Rain Or Shine wins its last three (against Purefoods tonight, Alaska on Friday and Ginebra next Sunday), the Elasto Painters will take pole position with a 9-2 record. Ginebra, Talk ‘N’ Text or Purefoods could muddle the issue if they win their last assignments because they could go up to eight victories. Not all three will move up to eight wins as Talk ‘N’ Text and Purefoods square off on Wednesday.

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Kia Sorento still has a chance to advance but it will require a minor miracle. Kia has to beat Meralco on Wednesday and NLEX next Sunday then hope Barako Bull beats the Road Warriors on Tuesday. If NLEX loses to Barako and Kia defeats Meralco, then the winner of the Kia-NLEX will advance to the playoffs. If NLEX beats Barako, Kia is automatically eliminated because in a possible two-way tie with the Energy, the Sorento has an inferior quotient of -16. Kia playing coach and WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao is expected to take to the floor against Meralco and NLEX.

What makes the remaining games even more interesting is the scramble to nail the twice-to-beat advantage that goes with placing 3, 4, 5 and 6. Those slots are still up for grabs.

If the eliminations ended before yesterday’s game, Alaska and San Miguel Beer will go straight to the semifinals. Rain Or Shine will play against Barako, Ginebra against NLEX, Talk ‘N’ Text against Meralco and Purefoods against Globalport in the quarterfinals. The Painters, Ginebra, Texters and Hotshots will enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage so for them to be booted out, they’ve got to lose two in a row. Out will be Kia and Blackwater.

Assuming the higher seeds win, here is how the teams will match up in the knockout games in the succeeding phase - Rain Or Shine against Purefoods and Ginebra against Talk ‘N’ Text. Both games will be sudden-death, meaning only the winners survive to proceed to the semifinals. Once more, assuming the higher seeds win, Rain Or Shine and Ginebra will move to the semifinals where the best-of-seven pairings will be Alaska against Ginebra and San Miguel Beer against Rain Or Shine. Winners then play in the best-of-seven Finals.

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It’s going to be a wild chase for more wins. NLEX, Barako and Kia are trying to sneak into the playoffs. Alaska and San Miguel Beer are determined to stay on top of the ladder for safe passage to the semifinals. The other teams are battling to claim the twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals. And every team will be out to win by a mile because only the quotient system will be used to break ties.

With a record 12 teams, the PBA is using a unique tournament format that’s turning out to be one of the most exciting, if not the most exciting, ever. The knockout format in the quarterfinals is a guaranteed thriller. The No. 7, 8, 9 and 10 seeds will be in a do-or-die situation twice and the two knockout games involving the four survivors of the first quarterfinals phase will be nail-biters for sure because of the winner-take-all feature.

So far, 36 rookies have seen action this conference, indicating more opportunities for players to display their wares - no doubt, a positive result of expansion. There have been 183 players to check in for at least one game and the list will increase when injured players like Chris Tiu and Dorian Peña are reactivated. To prove the distribution of “wealth,” only four players have scored in double figures in every game - reigning MVP JuneMar Fajardo (double-doubles in every outing) of San Miguel Beer, MacMac Cardona of NLEX, Stanley Pringle of Globalport and Greg Slaughter of Barangay Ginebra.

By the way, Fajardo and San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria will be the special guests in a mock press conference to be held at the Inkblots National Campus Journalism Seminar/Workshop at the Thomas Aquinas Auditorium, UST Campus, tomorrow, 4:30 p.m. Student participants will ask questions in an open forum then write stories about the interaction with the top 10 best articles to be awarded prizes from the PBA and San Miguel Corp.