TNT is in! What now?

The Tropang Giga now only need to beat the Batang Pier to stay out of complications. PBA Images (file photo)

By Ivan Saldajeno

TNT formally clinched a spot in the PBA Governors' Cup quarterfinals with a blowout win against Terrafirma on Wednesday night.

But for a team still in the fight for the twice-to-beat advantage, the Tropang Giga are just halfway done.

They still need to beat the NorthPort Batang Pier on Friday night to seal the Top 4 finish entering the quarterfinal round next week.

But how will this impact the other teams looking to sneak into the quarterfinals either actively or passively on the final night of the eliminations? What if TNT loses?

There are four scenarios in play entering Friday night.

Note that the six-way logjam at 6-5 is still possible, and I already posted it here.

So I will just look at the other three.

First up, I partially discussed the two scenarios that assume TNT will beat NorthPort, in which the former will lock in the third seed. More on it here.

A Meralco win will hand the team the fourth seed and will have a twice-to-beat advantage against fifth-seeded San Miguel.

The outcome will give Ginebra and Alaska, both at 6-5, the outright quarterfinal berths as the sixth and seventh seeds, respectively.

This will leave the Batang Pier and the Phoenix Fuel Masters, who will both fall to 5-6, slugging it out one more time for the eighth seed.

However, if Phoenix stuns Meralco, the former will clinch a playoff spot, dropping the latter out of the Top 4.

There is even a chance that the Fuel Masters will go up to fifth if they beat the Bolts by three points or more.

The only sure thing is that the Aces will be the eighth seed, and the Batang Pier are out.

The last scenario will involve a Meralco win and a NorthPort win.

SMB seals the third seed, Meralco takes the fourth seed, TNT drops out of the Top 4, NorthPort moves on to the quarterfinals, and Phoenix will be knocked out.

The Batang Pier can still move up some ranks, but they must beat the Tropang Giga by a huge margin.

To summarize among those who are out of the Top 4 running:

1. Ginebra is in no matter what.

2. Alaska can clinch a playoff spot if either Meralco or TNT wins.

3. Phoenix can clinch a playoff spot with a win against Meralco.

3. NorthPort and Phoenix might need to win by a huge margin to get better playoff seedings.

Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno