The winner in the 4 p.m. match will join Hapee Toothpaste and John-O in the next round while the loser drops to the stepladder phase with five for the last semifinals berth.
LBC-Batangas’ 78-76 victory over Nutri-licious Friday night ousted not only the Juicers from race for the last automatic seat but also Welcoat Paints. However, neither did the win save the Batangas Blades from going through the stepladder phase.
In case the Batangas Blades end up in a four-way tie with Welcoat, Viva and Montana with identical 5-5 records, Montana still gets the last automatic semis berth by virtue of its highest quotient.
Under such case, Viva winds up No. 6 overall and takes the third spot in Pool A in the stepladder phase.
But if Viva wins, LBC-Batangas would take the overall No. 4 slot and the top spot in Pool A while Montana would be relegated to Pool B.
Nutri-licious and Blu Detergent also collide in an equally crucial encounter at 2 p.m.
The Juicers will wind up seventh overall and No. 1 in Pool B if they prevail over Blu and Viva wins over Montana.
If they lose, Blu would snatch the top spot in Pool B whether Viva or Montana wins in the other match.
Last Friday, Nutri-licious appeared was headed for the big win, but endgame lapses spoiled its bid to join Hapee and John-O outright to the semifinal round.
A triple by Irvin Sotto installed the Juicers back on top, 76-75, with 29.7 seconds to go.
But teammate Chico Lanete sent Froilan Baguion to the freethrow line and gave the upperhand back to the Batangas Blades, 77-76, with 28.3 seconds remaining.
Sotto later hang too long to the ball as he poised himself for the winning basket. But just when Sotto was at the perfect spot for a right hook, Al Magpayo was quick to pull a block and deny the former of a hero’s role.
Nutri-licious’ fate could have turn for the better if not for the absence of stalwart Nelbert Omolon who was down with flu for the past two days. Omolon had shown consistently splendid performance in the Juicers’ last three games, including the conference high 36 points he posted in Cebu where they pulled an 86-85 double overtime upset over Hapee Toothpaste.