After today, four more games will still be played in the elimination round but these will be reduced to a scramble for seedings in the Final Eight if Pop Cola hurdles Barangay Ginebra and Purefoods overcomes Shell.
Red Bull and Barangay Ginebra are still in the race for the last two spots in the Magic Four but Pop Cola and Purefoods enjoy the inside track with superior quotient.
The Thunder and the Gin Kings hope the Panthers and the Hotdogs lose all their remaining games so they can have a chance at salvaging a place in the Top Four, joining the Shell Turbochargers and the San Miguel Beermen.
Purefoods closes its elims stint versus Shell in today’s curtain-raiser while Pop Cola has two more games versus Ginebra and Sta. Lucia Realty.
Thus, the Panthers have two cracks at gaining a place in the Magic Four for the first time since the playoff format was introduced in the league in 1999.
For the record, the Panthers have never made it to the upper half of the leaderboard the last three years and the franchise has never earned a Top Three finish since placing third in the 1998 Centennial Cup which was ruled by Mobiline.
Pop Cola looks poised to make a prominent finish in the tournament — thanks to its aggressive off-season buildup that had the team acquiring the services of marquee players Johnny Abarrientos, Rudy Hatfield and Poch Juinio.
The team has been on a sizzling run even without veteran player Jojo Lastimosa who underwent a knee operation.
The Panthers are confident they can hurdle the Gin Kings, the same team which they dealt a 100-84 beating in their first meeting in the elims.