PBA smorgasbord

4 games scheduled all day long

SMART CLARK GIGA CITY, Pampanga, Philippines — Denied an outright quarterfinals seat last week, pacesetting TNT takes another shot at the playoffs as it joins seven other teams in a historic quadrupleheader marking the PBA bubble restart today at the AUF Sports Arena Powered by Smart 5G.

The Tropang Giga, who suffered their first loss prior to a four-day break (109-98 to NLEX), target a quick bounceback against NorthPort (1-4) and a Last-8 entry in one of the featured matches in the PBA’s “all-day Tuesday.”

The TNT-NorthPort duel is set at 4 p.m. and serves as game No. 3 in a heavy bill that starts at 10 a.m. all the way to around 9 p.m.

Holder San Miguel Beer (4-2) guns for its third straight win against the long-inactive Blackwater (2-3) in the rare morning tussle while Phoenix (4-3) seeks to get back on track versus Terrafirma (0-5) at 1 p.m.

Alaska (5-3) looks to extend its two-game streak against Barangay Ginebra (4-2), which is on a two-match slide, in the 6:45 p.m. nightcap.

“We really need to bounce back and reach our initial goal,” said TNT coach Bong Ravena, also stressing the need to get as much cushion given the “killer schedule” where teams may play five or six outings in the next nine days.

SMB tactician Leo Austria said the teams will be fully tested on how they can handle the rigors of the thinly-spaced games.

“I told the team we have to adjust to the situation. We’re here, we’re committed to finish the season so we have to embrace whatever schedule we get and perform to the best of our abilities,” he said.

Blackwater is eager to plunge into action for the first time in 12 days.

“We last played Oct. 22 and we miss playing in the bubble,” said Elite mentor Nash Racela, whose wards are out to snap a two-game skid. “We’re excited for the resumption of the games and we look forward to bouncing back from our previous losses.”

The Elite brace for a very busy calendar with only five completed games. Two of their previous assignments were postponed due to the “suspect cases” involving a referee and one of their players, both of whom eventually tested negative in confirmatory tests.

It’s the first time, and not the last, that four PBA games will be played in a single day.