PBA’s holiday treat

What better way to spend Christmas Day than to watch a PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinal double-header at the Smart Araneta Coliseum starting 5:15 p.m. with top-seed San Miguel Beer enjoying a twice-to-beat advantage over NLEX and later at 7:30pm with Converge holding a similar twice-to-beat edge over Barangay Ginebra.

The single-round eliminations ended last Dec. 21 with TNT preventing Magnolia from forging a three-way tie for fourth via a 94-83 win and Ginebra escaping a slide to No. 7 by beating Titan, 108-105. Here are the standings that determined the quarterfinal matchups: 1. San Miguel Beer (9-2), 2, Rain or Shine (8-3), 3. TNT (8-3), 4. Converge (7-4), 5. Ginebra (7-4), 6. Magnolia (6-5), 7. Meralco (6-5), 8. NLEX (6-5), 9. Titan (4-5), 10. Phoenix (3-8), 11. Terrafirma (1-10), 12. Blackwater (1-10). Ties were settled via quotients.

Rain or Shine took No. 2 by virtue of its 91-89 win over TNT. Converge entered the Magic Circle of 4 with a 106-96 decision over Ginebra.  In the three-way logjam for sixth, Magnolia had the superior plus-minus at +14 then Meralco at -2 and NLEX at -12. If Magnolia had beaten TNT, the Hotshots would’ve dislodged Ginebra at No. 5. If Ginebra had lost to Titan, it would’ve slid down to No. 7 and Magnolia would’ve gone up to No. 5. The quarterfinal matchups are No. 1 San Miguel against No. 8 NLEX, No. 2 Rain or Shine against No 7 Meralco, No. 3 TNT against No. 6 Magnolia and No. 4 Converge against No. 5 Ginebra with the top four seeds sitting on a twice-to-beat cushion.

After today›s twinbill, it will be Rain or Shine against Meralco and TNT against Magnolia, also at the Big Dome, on Saturday. If necessary, it will be Converge against Ginebra and San Miguel against NLEX on Sunday. And on Monday, if necessary, it will be TNT against Magnolia and Rain or Shine against Meralco.

San Miguel started the conference at 0-2 and is now on a nine-game win streak.  The Beermen are No. 1 in offense, second chance points and bench points. Coach Leo Austria’s depth is a killer with nine-time MVP JuneMar Fajardo the team’s third leading scorer behind CJ Perez and Don Trollano, and nine players averaging at least 15 minutes. NLEX welcomes back Robert Bolick from the SEA Games and Road Warriors coach Jong Uichico will try to defy the odds but beating San Miguel twice in a row is a challenge. By the way, NLEX was one of two teams that repulsed San Miguel in the elims.

Ginebra’s back is against the wall.  Coach Tim Cone must repulse Converge two straight to make it to the semis. The FiberXers will rely on Justin Arana, Justine Baltazar, Alec Stockton, Juan Gomez de Liaño, Deschon Winston and newly-acquired Vic Manuel to finish off Cone’s charges. Ginebra is on a five-game win streak so momentum is on its side.

Both ROS and Meralco are coming off losses. In the elims, the Bolts lost by a point in OT to ROS. They’re evenly-matched but coach Yeng Guiao’s twice-to-beat advantage could make the difference. TNT has won three in a row and intends to make short work of Magnolia. The Hotshots recently activated playing coach LA Tenorio with Jerom Lastimosa and Paul Lee ailing. Yukien Andrada has checked in from the NCAA and had a 12-point debut against TNT last Sunday. Poy Erram is back from the SEA Games and will be a factor in containing Magnolia’s bigs. It’ll be a thrilling quarterfinals for sure.