Eastern faces huge dilemma

MANILA, Philippines — Guest team Eastern is in danger of falling to No. 7 in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup standings and will avoid a twice-to-win disadvantage in the quarterfinals only if TNT beats Rain or Shine in the final elimination game at PhilSports Arena tonight.

A TNT win will position Eastern at No. 6 to face Converge in a best-of-three quarterfinal series. But a TNT loss will drop Eastern to No. 7. If Meralco defeats Magnolia in the other contest tonight, Eastern will meet Converge and must win twice to advance to the semifinals. If Magnolia prevails, Eastern will be in the same predicament against TNT.

Eastern coach Mensur Bajramovic is in a difficult position deciding whether to reactivate original import Cameron Clark or stick with Chris McLaughlin. Clark opened the conference averaging 32.5 points and 13 rebounds, shooting .539 from three and .875 from the line to lead Eastern to a 3-1 record. Then, he went down with a pulled muscle in his hip, prompting McLaughlin to step in. With McLaughlin, Eastern has won four of eight and lost the last two. McLaughlin is norming 20.9 points and 14.7 rebounds, hitting .250 from three and .650 from the stripe.

If Clark returns, Bajramovic has the option of moving 6-6 Hayden Blankley to five in playing small or elevating 6-8 Ray Cao from four to five or taking a chance on 6-7 Yuet Yueng Pok or 6-8 Hao Zhu. The 6-10 McLaughlin is a towering presence but with Clark, Eastern has an experienced go-to guy who led NLEX and San Miguel Beer to the PBA semifinals in previous conferences.

If Magnolia wins tonight, there will be a playoff for No. 8 on Sunday. Eastern has an EASL assignment in Taiwan on Feb. 5 so it will be a tight schedule in the PBA quarterfinals.