GAMES TODAY
(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)
5 p.m. – Phoenix vs. Blackwater
7:30 p.m. – TNT vs. Magnolia
MAGNOLIA will show up and throw away the stinging loss it absorbed the last time out, with a chance to clinch a coveted spot with a precious bonus in the playoffs.
On the other side, equally determined will be TNT, which still has a shot at a top-four finish that will be rewarded with a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.
Who will hit the mark will be known when the Hotshots take on the Tropang 5G today in the penultimate playdate of the eliminations of the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
The tiff is set at 7:30 p.m. and will carry a moving up theme after also-ran squads Phoenix and Blackwater clash in stark contrast to the nightcap—a duel of graduating sides in the season at 5 o’clock.
Magnolia dropped its last two outings, including a 99-107 loss to NLEX last week that pulled the Hotshots down to 7-3.
Ditto with grand slam-seeking TNT, which surprisingly came out flat in a disappointing 78-97 thrashing at the hands of Ginebra last Sunday.
The Chito Victolero-mentored Magnolia quintet will rely on the likes of Zavier Lucero, Paul Lee, Mark Barroca, Ian Sangalang, Jerom Lastimosa, Peter Alfaro, and William Navarro.
The onus to deliver the goods for the charges of Tropang 5G tactician Chot Reyes rests on the shoulders of Calvin Oftana, Roger Pogoy, JP Erram, Kelly Williams, Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, and Jordan Heading to finish with a 7-4 mark.
Unlike Magnolia and TNT, the Bossing and the Fuel Masters only want to end their campaigns on a high.
“We’d play the way we’ve been playing the whole season,” Blackwater strategist Jeff Cariaso said. “It’s just another game and we value every game and our approach for every game is the same.
“So, yeah, we’re gonna be out there to end the season on a good note and then draw up the schedule for the off-season going to the new season,” he added.
For Phoenix counterpart Jamike Jarin, his troops mostly failed to wind up with their best in the endgames of their setbacks in the import-less tilt.
“For me, it was a disappointing season. Going into the season, we’re a young team but we had high hopes. We just couldn’t finish the games,” he said. “A lot of the games we were up most of the time, even double-digit leads. We just couldn’t finish.”
Jarin’s hoping they can get the job done—at least this time in their final game.
