THERE are four more playdates remaining in the elimination round of the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup, but the cast for the quarterfinals is already complete.
It is rare for the cast of the playoffs to be completed this early, but for this tournament, the smoke cleared earlier than expected.
The eight teams that will compose the playoffs are Barangay Ginebra, Meralco, NLEX, San Miguel, TNT KaTropa, Star, Rain or Shine and Blackwater.
Blackwater’s 118-105 rout of GlobalPort last Sunday paved way for most of these mentioned teams to officially earn a berth in the next round.
The Elite’s victory earned itself, San Miguel Beer, TNT KaTropa, Star and Rain or Shine outright tickets to the quarterfinals, while eliminating the Batang Pier and Alaska in the process.
While the top eight teams will march to the quarters, GlobalPort, Alaska, Phoenix and Kia are the four teams that are bound to have an early vacation after finishing their remaining games.
Yet, there are still a lot of things to be settled as teams continue to jockey for better positioning.
The top four finishers will enjoy a twice-to-beat incentive against the lower seeded teams in the quarters.
As of now, Barangay Ginebra and Meralco are the two teams guaranteed of a top four, while the two other slots are up for grabs.
Competing for those remaining incentives are NLEX, TNT KaTropa, San Miguel, Rain or Shine and Star.