Rivalries will spearhead the quarterfinals of the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup.
The playoffs begin with No. 3 seed TNT KaTropa facing arch-nemesis San Miguel Beer, seeded No. 6, at 4:30 p.m. in Game 1 of their best-of-three quarterfinals showdown at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
No. 4 Meralco and No. 5 Barangay Ginebra have their own battle and open their series at 7 p.m. in the nightcap.
Expect a lot of fireworks in these pairings as both rivalries present a lot of history, especially in recent memory.
Aside from their already colorful history, the Tropang Texters and the Beermen will be figuring in a rematch of last season’s championship.
Defending champion San Miguel finished off TNT KaTropa, 4-1, to take home the crown last year.
The Beermen look to continue their mastery of the Texters as they took their elimination meeting, 99-94, last June 16.
“We lost our last game in the eliminations but we’re still in a good position since we’ll be facing Talk ‘N Text in a best-of-three,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria. “It’s a new game for everyone. We know we need to be at our best in the playoffs.”
TNT finished with an 8-3 card while San Miguel ended up at 6-5.
The Gin Kings have prevented the Bolts from winning two titles the past two years, having copped the last two Governors’ Cup at Meralco’s expense.
But Meralco sent a statement in the eliminations with its 93-82 rout of Ginebra in their meeting last June 1.
However, that Ginebra team the Bolts faced was nowhere near what it is at this point.
The Gin Kings are the league’s hottest team, finishing the eliminations on a six-game winning streak to climb out of 1-5 hole and claim the No. 5 seed with a 6-5 mark.
Meralco, though, has been steady all conference long, finishing at 7-4 despite losing its last two games.