Pole to cellar shuffle

MANILA, Philippines — Unpredictability has become a prevailing theme in the ongoing PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup wars.

The team standings in the two groups through 12 playdates give a perfect illustration.

Squads that failed to get past the quarterfinals of the previous Commissioner’s Cup are holding pole position while some of the heavy-hitters are sitting outside the “Magic 4” or worse, languishing at the cellar after an unstable start.

Phoenix, which was stranded in the Last-8 of the preceding tournament, shows the way in Group B at 3-1 ahead of Meralco and surprise package Blackwater with identical 2-2 cards.

Reigning Commissioner’s Cup titlist Barangay Ginebra occupies fourth at 1-1.

Behind the Gin Kings are perennial contenders Magnolia and Rain or Shine, which opened their respective campaigns at 0-2 and managed to score their breakthroughs only this week.

Meanwhile NLEX, which took the top seeding of the last Commissioner’s Cup but fell twice to eighth-seeded TNT in the quarters, and San Miguel Beer, which got the boot from twice-to-beat ROS in the Final Eight of the mid-season tourney, share No. 1 over in Group A.

The Road Warriors, now under Jimmy Alapag, and the Beermen, off to a fiery start for a change, are the only undefeated teams at 3-0 prior to their marquee matchup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Converge, a bunch that missed out on the Commissioner’s Cup playoffs completely in spite of its powerhouse roster, holds third spot at 3-1 ahead of Terrafirma, which rose to No. 4 at 2-3 on the strength of its 111-106 overtime upset of defending champion TNT Saturday night.

The Tropang 5G, struggling with stalwarts Jayson Castro, Calvin Oftana, Brandon Rosser and Kelly Williams out on injuries and with import Darius Days still groping for form, are on a two-game skid and tote a 1-2 card for fifth.

The Tropang 5G also fell to an ambush at the hands of erstwhile winless Titan Ultra, 87-103 after barely winning their conference debut against Macau, 106-103.

The Giant Pandas, meanwhile, climbed to sixth after getting on the board with a 132-126 victory over Titan Saturday, displacing the Giant Risers (1-4) who slipped to seventh.

Under the Governors’ Cup format, competitors face rivals from their group twice with the Top 4 in each bracket advancing to the crossover quarterfinals.