So many questions | Sports Inquirer

Rain or Shine veteran James Yap rises to float against TNT’s defense. Yap caught fire early, helping the Painters build a cushion enough to contain the Tropang Giga on the stretch. —PHOTOS COURTESY OF PBA IMAGES

A key question was answered Thursday night: Which eight teams will make up the quarter-final round of the PBA Philippine Cup?

Rain or Shine cemented that cast, with a strong start from James Yap and then holding off dangerous TNT down the stretch in an 80-74 win at the Angeles University Foundation in Pampanga province.

That gave the Painters last place in the playoffs, but the tournament will need Wednesday to unlock the final rankings and quarter-final pairings.

As it stands, only Barangay Geneva is in a more or less safe spot, having secured No. 1 spot, and protection twice to beat in the quarterfinals, after a win over Terrafirma last Monday.

The rest? Put it this way: Up to seven teams can get caught in a seven-win, four-loss stalemate, requiring the application of the quotient system.

“James Yap started the fire for us,” Rain or Shine’s coach Caloy Garcia told reporters after the game.

Painters must keep that fire burning. Rain or Shine faces Phoenix in a match that could determine his fate for the remainder of the tournament.

Good start

Yap helped Rain or Shine build a strong start, scoring 16 points in the first half, where the painters took control. They were ahead by 10, 67-57, early in the quarter before TNT rallied back strongly and caught up on the stretch, with Ray Parks Jr. tying the score at 72 with a longer-than-3 triple. regulation in the last two. minutes of the game.

But the Tropang Giga failed on several attempts and suffered a fourth defeat in 11 starts.

“[The victory] It releases a lot of pressure, especially on the player’s side, ”Garcia said.

Alaska also got into contention for a top 4 spot with a 122-119 win over NLEX earlier in the day. Teams in the top four will only need to beat their quarterfinal opponents once to advance to the semifinals. Outside of the top half, a team must win consecutively against its quarterfinal enemy to advance.

“I remember saying that as we get better in every game, things are going to go our way,” Alaska coach Jeffrey Cariaso told reporters after the game.

Complicated math

Alaska will need a complicated mathematical route to reach the Top 4. The Aces won their seventh game in 11 starts and are currently tied with TNT.

San Miguel also finished the knockout round 7-4 after beating NorthPort 120-99 later that night, and even coach Leo Austria isn’t sure where his team will be when the playoffs start.

“But what’s important to us is that we can win this game, especially the last two games, because we knew that these two games could lead us to the quarter-finals or [to] the Top 4, ”Austria said. “But we still don’t know what will happen and it will depend on the results of tomorrow’s games.”

Here’s what could happen on Wednesday: Rain or Shine, Magnolia and Meralco wins on Wednesday will put them at 7-4 as well. That means Phoenix, who will play the Painters on the last play date of the knockout round, will also drop to 7-4, bringing the number of teams with the same records to seven.

Arwind Santos finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Beermen, who had two other players contributing 21 points each: Mo Tautuaa, who also had nine rebounds, and Marcio Lassiter, who exhausted four of six 3-point attempts.

Kelly Nabong led NorthPort with 29 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

Meanwhile, Mocon pulled off a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double outing as the Painters also eliminated NLEX’s chances of forcing a life or death for last place in the playoffs.

Beau Belga, Mark Borboran and Gabe Norwood all contributed offensively, while Rain or Shine’s defense cracked down on TNT’s top guns Roger Pogoy and Parks, limiting themselves to just a total of 20 points.

“Before entering the bubble, I told the players: ‘Everyone has to trust each other.’ They have to trust us every time we make the game plans. [The players also] We have to trust ourselves with what we decide. At the same time, we trust anything on your side, like your suggestions, ”Garcia said.

Troy Rosario had 18 points to lead the Tropang Giga charges. INQ

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