TWO teams, one last spot. Which squad will catch the last seat in the Last Eight bus will be finally known.
NorthPort squares off with Terrafirma tonight in a do-or-die clash for the final berth in the quarterfinals of the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
The no-tomorrow tiff is set at 7:30 p.m., with the winner advancing to the playoffs of the season-ending tilt opposite top seed and defending champion San Miguel Beer.
The Beermen, who wound up with a 10-1 mark after the eliminations, will enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage against either the Batang Pier or Dyip.
Ditto with No. 2 Ginebra who will battle seventh seed Magnolia.
Third-ranked Meralco will take on No. 6 NLEX in a best-of-3 quarterfinals series, while fourth seed TNT will face No. 5 Rain or Shine in the other showdown.
Terrafirma and NorthPort ended up tied at eighth with the same 5-6 record after the elims.
After the Batang Pier forged a tie with a fifth win via a 115-113 squeaker over the Blackwater Bossing last April 27, the Dyip muffed their chance at an outright playoffs slot, dropping a 108-100 setback to the Magnolia Hotshots five days ago.
Certainly, the job does not get any easier when all the dust settles tonight but the combatants are determined to keep their season alive.
The tussle might mirror a dogfight–just like their elims duel.
The Dyip leaned on Stephen Holt’s go-ahead layup and a game-saving defensive stop in the last 3.1 seconds to hack out a 110-108 decision over the Batang Pier.
Terrafirma will pin its hopes anew on the likes of Holt, Juami Tiongson, Javi Gomez de Liaño, and Isaac Go.
Arvin Tolentino, Joshua Munzon, Zavier Lucero, Fran Yu, and William Navarro will be counted upon anew by NorthPort to deliver anew.
Meanwhile, Meralco’s Cliff Hodge was named the PBA Press Corps-Pilipinas Live Player of the Week for May 1 to 5.
Hodge was selected by the men and women covering the PBA beat as the week’s best over the likes of Bolts teammate Allein Maliksi, who fired 22 points and led the team in stymieing the rallying Beermen, and Beau Belga, who guided Rain or Shine to a Last 8-clinching 120-104 triumph over NLEX.
Mostly known for his defense and being a workhorse, Hodge rose to the occasion in one crucial road win in Batangas City, displaying one facet of his game that’s been mostly overlooked–his ability to score buckets.
