Out to pasture

There are six games left before the PBA Governors Cup eliminations end on Friday and so far, only three teams are out to pasture. Terrafirma, Titan and Macau are done for the season, walking away with a whimper.

The remaining pairings are TNT-Converge and Ginebra-Phoenix today, San Miguel Beer-NLEX and Rain or Shine-Magnolia on Wednesday and Blackwater-Ginebra and Rain or Shine-Phoenix on Friday. The results of the six games will impact on the matchups in the best-of-five quarterfinals and also determine which two teams in Group B won’t advance.

In Group A, two showdowns are upcoming. The winner of TNT-Converge will wind up No. 3 while the San Miguel-NLEX survivor will take pole position. No. 1 in Group A will face No. 4 in Group B while No. 3 in Group A will meet No. 2 in Group B in the quarterfinals.

While the Group A quarterfinalists are settled, it’s far from over in Group B. Ginebra is out of the playoff picture at the moment and will need wins over Phoenix and Blackwater to stay alive. There will be no playoff for the fourth and last quarterfinal slot so if ever Ginebra ties for fourth, its fate lies in the quotient system. Losing to Magnolia last Sunday was a heartbreaker and it wasn’t close as the Hotshots won by 19. Justin Brownlee›s absence is a factor and Jordan Murphy doesn’t look like the savior who can lead Ginebra out of extinction. If Ginebra sweeps its last two assignments, coach Tim Cone’s squad will move up to 5-5. That will eliminate Meralco at 4-6 and Blackwater to push Ginebra to No. 4.

Magnolia is sitting pretty at No. 1 in Group B, riding on a five-game win streak. Coach LA Tenorio has brought out the best from his troops, not relying exclusively on import KJ Buffen who wasn’t Magnolia’s top scorer in the two wins over Ginebra this conference. Zavier Lucero, Jerom Lastimosa and Ian Sangalang are averaging in double figure points to provide offensive support for Buffen. Magnolia’s starters are averaging 57.9 points, lowest in the league among first fivers, indicating Tenorio›s focus is more on defense where the Hotshots are No. 1, yielding 93.2 points a game. Magnolia’s game against Rain or Shine could determine which team will end up No. 1 in Group B.

The quarterfinals reel off on Oct. 25 and finish Nov. 8. There will be a break in the schedule on Nov. 9-Dec. 3 to give way to the FIBA fifth World Cup Asia qualifying window in Kuala Lumpur. Gilas meets Syria on Nov. 27 then Iran on Nov. 29. The best-of-five semifinals will be on Dec. 4-13 and the best-of-seven Finals, on Dec. 16-30.