Ginebra awaits Meralco-ROS outcome

A win by Meralco over Rain Or Shine in the first game of a PBA Commissioner’s Cup twinbill at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight will mean a No. 7 seeding for Ginebra San Miguel with the playoffs coming up on Friday.

Finishing the eliminations at No. 7 isn’t a thought to relish because of the twice-to-beat disadvantage against No. 2 seed Rain Or Shine. That’s the grim fate awaiting the No. 7 seed. It won’t matter if the Elasto Painters win or lose in their outing tonight as they’re safe at No. 2 with a 9-4 record. But for the Bolts, a victory is a must to avoid dropping to No. 7.

If Meralco wins over Rain Or Shine, it will be Ginebra falling to No. 7 regardless of the outcome in the second game between Talk ‘N’ Text and Petron tonight. That’s because the Kings own the lowest quotient among Meralco, Talk ‘N’ Text and Petron. A three-way logjam for No. 5 will be created with a Meralco win.

In one scenario, it could be Meralco, Petron and Ginebra with identical 7-7 records. That happens if Meralco and the Texters win tonight. This situation favors Meralco with a +3 quotient. Talk ‘N’ Text is 0 and Ginebra, -3. If Ginebra lost to the Texters by 10 or less or if they won last Sunday, it would be Talk ‘N’ Text slipping to No. 7 instead.

In the other scenario, it could be Meralco, Talk ‘N’ Text and Ginebra with identical 7-7 records. That happens if Meralco and Petron win tonight. This situation favors Petron with a +7 quotient. Meralco is -4 and Ginebra, -11. If Meralco loses, it tumbles to 6-8 and takes the No. 7 seeding no matter if Petron or Talk ‘N’ Text wins tonight.

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If Petron wins, the Blaze Boosters tie San Mig Coffee with identical 8-6 records and clinch the No. 3 seed because of a +21 advantage. The Mixers drop to No. 4. If Talk ‘N’ Text wins, the Tropa will settle at No. 4 because of a -9 quotient disadvantage to San Mig Coffee. In a two-way tie for fifth, either Talk ‘N’ Text or Petron has a higher quotient than Ginebra, meaning the Kings will drop to sixth.

The No. 3 vs No. 6 and No. 4 vs No. 5 best-of-three series begin on Friday. No. 1 Alaska will play with a twice-to-beat advantage over No. 8 Air 21 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday. Also on the Saturday bill, No. 2 Rain Or Shine will face either Ginebra or Meralco. It will be Ginebra if Meralco wins over Rain Or Shine tonight.

Teams may change imports at any time during the conference, even in the middle of the finals. The only squads sticking with their original imports so far are Alaska with Rob Dozier, Rain Or Shine with Bruno Sundov, Meralco with Eric Dawson and Air 21 with Michael Dunigan. The latest to unveil a replacement import is Talk ‘N’ Text with towering 7-foot Jerome Jordan making an auspicious debut against Ginebra last Sunday. Jordan delivered 23 points and 17 rebounds after practicing only thrice with the Texters.

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The FIBA-Asia Championships logo was unveiled last Sunday and SBP executive director Sonny Barrios said no less than SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan was involved in finalizing the design that expresses Filipino patriotism. The logo shows a basketball at the center depicting the sun with five rays inspired by the design of the Philippine flag.

“We received several studies of the logo from our graphic artist and after several revisions, Mr. MVP himself approved the final design,” said Barrios. “That’s how hands-on Mr. MVP is.” Barrios confirmed that there was a request from Lebanon and Qatar to move the schedule of the tournament a week later to accommodate Ramadan but the MOA Arena calendar was fully booked. “We looked into the possibility and were informed by the MOA Arena that the next week’s calendar was already committed. So it’s definitely a go for Aug. 1-11.”

Gilas is required to submit a 24-man lineup to FIBA-Asia by July 1 and a trimmed-down 12-man roster by July 15. Any changes to be made on the July 15 cast during the managers’ meeting the day before the start of the tournament can only come from the 24-man lineup and must be justified. Injury is the most acceptable justification. A $2,000 fee is usually paid for every player changed from the July 15 roster.