4 teams tackle unfinished business

MANILA, Philippines — Win or lose, no one can take away their reserved seats in the PBA Governors’ Cup playoffs anymore.

But don’t expect Group A’s NLEX (9-2) and San Miguel Beer (8-3) and Group B’s Magnolia (6-3) and Rain or Shine (5-3) to slack off one bit as they tackle unfinished business in the preliminaries.

They have several reasons to still go hard in today’s double-header at Ynares Center-Antipolo.

There’s the prestige of grabbing the No. 1 seeding, which sets up a best-of-five duel with the fourth-seeded quarterfinalist from the other group.

There’s opportunity to gauge themselves against a topnotch opponent and fine-tune ahead of the bigger battles ahead.

And of course, there’s the “respect for the game” factor.

“I think it’s one of the best games that you can play before the playoffs kasi you’re playing against a champion team, a team that has dominated here in the PBA for quite some time,” Road Warriors coach Jimmy Alapag said of the 5:15 p.m. duel with reigning Philippine Cup champion SMB.

“So, it will be a great test for our guys as we prepare for the quarterfinals.”

Beermen counterpart Leo Austria emphasizes the importance of keeping the winning culture.

“Whatever happens, kahit No. 1 or No. 2, we should be okay pero we’d still be going for a win kasi, sabi ko nga sa team, always go for the win, kahit no-bearing, para ‘iyung sharpness hindi mawala,” he added.