Blackwater-Meralco game to open PBA PH Cup in schedule tweak

The game between Blackwater and Meralco will now be the opening game of the PBA Philippine Cup. PBA Images (file photo)

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--A switch in schedule among the first eight teams in action for the PBA Philippine Cup will now see Blackwater and Meralco facing off in the conference opener.

Initially scheduled as the first game of the March 1 doubleheader, the game between the Bossing and the Bolts will now be the curtain-raiser for the opening night of the season-ending tournament at 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 28 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

This means James Yap and Rey Nambatac's anticipated debut for Blackwater will happen right at the start of the Philippine Cup.

The entirety of the Feb. 28 and March 1 twin bills swapped places in the updated schedule released by the league on Friday, which means the game between TNT and Rain or Shine will now be on Feb. 28 as well, still scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.

The March 1 fixtures are now the games originally scheduled for Feb. 28: Terrafirma against Converge at 4:30 p.m. and NorthPort taking on NLEX at 7:30 p.m., both happening at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

The opening weekend games for the PBA Philippine Cup also switched places.

The doubleheader featuring the Bossing against the Tropang Giga and the Elasto Painters versus the Bolts will now be played on March 2.

On the other hand, the doubleheader featuring the Road Warriors-Dyip and the FiberXers-Batang Pier games will now be on March 3.

Both twin bills will still be at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The rest of the elimination round schedule remains intact as initially scheduled.

On the other hand, the showdown between San Miguel and Meralco on May 4 will now take place at the Batangas City Sports Coliseum.

The game is scheduled for a 6:15 p.m. tip-off, right after the 3 p.m. game between Blackwater and Phoenix at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig as part of the PBA's split-arena Saturday scheme.