Up for grabs
Twice-to-beat edge still unclaimed
The quarterfinal cast in the PBA Governors' Cup may be complete, but the race for the twice-to-beat advantage remains wide open with four playdates left in the elimination round.
Solo leader Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is all but assured of the quarterfinal bonus with its 8-2 record while Meralco, TNT KaTropa, NLEX and Grand Slam-seeking San Miguel are locked in a tight battle for top four spots.
Meralco is in second at 7-2, TNT tied NLEX for third at 7-3 after import Glen Rice Jr. erupted for 43 points, 19 rebounds and nine assists in Sunday's 104-99 victory over Star at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City while San Miguel is in fifth at 6-3.
Rain or Shine and Star still have outside chances at the top four despite sharing sixth and seventh places at 5-4 going into the final week of the eliminations that features plenty of crucial matches.
Ginebra and TNT face off Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, the former needing a win to secure the twice-to-beat incentive.
Meralco faces GlobalPort Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena and San Miguel on Sunday at the Big Dome. The latter encounter comes after the Beermen's duel with the also-ran Phoenix Fuel Masters tomorrow in Antipolo City.
Star plays Kia Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena, and battles NLEX two days later at the Big Dome even as Rain or Shine has Alaska and Blackwater on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively.
Blackwater, with a 5-5 record, is no longer in contention for the twiceto-beat although it is keen on beating Rain or Shine to gain a much-better seeding in the playoffs.
The top four teams after the eliminations secure the twice-tobeat advantage in the quarterfinals, a different format from the season's first two conferences.
In the Philippine and Commissioner's Cups, the top two teams gain the bonus against the seventh and eighth-seeded team, while the third to sixth-ranked squads meet in a crossover best-of-three series.
The Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines (ABAP) and national training director Marc Velasco are joining hands this week in an effort to maintain the fighting form of the men’s elite and youth squads.
In the absence of topnotch meets overseas for the remainder of the year, the ABAP wants to make sure that its national team mainstays remain on active duty, executive director Ed Picson said yesterday.
Following the 29th Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia and the AIBA World Championships in Germany, the men’s squad has been left without something to look forward to the rest of the year.
But Picson believes gathering them all together in a setting that is conducive to training would remedy the problem.
In 2018, the most important event would be the Asian Games in Indonesia in August and Picson insists that the ABAP will be moving heaven and earth to guarantee that those who will be sent will be the best available.
A meeting with the coaching staff is also in the offing to determine what steps to undertake as the ABAP aims to improve on its one silver and two bronze performance four years ago in Incheon.