Zav Lucero gets 2 shots vs former team as Magnolia, NorthPort grouped together for PBA Govs' Cup elims

Zav Lucero will play against NorthPort twice early into the PBA Governors' Cup. PBA Images (file photo)
By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--Zav Lucero gets to play against his former team twice next conference as Magnolia and NorthPort are in the same group for the PBA Governors' Cup group stages.

Both the Hotshots and Batang Pier, who swapped players on Monday that also saw Jio Jalalon and Abu Tratter heading to the old Harbour Centre franchise, will be part of Group A.

Converge, which landed Balti Baltazar in the recent draft as the first overall pick, is also in Group A along with Terrafirma, TNT, and Meralco.

Group B is equally exciting with Ginebra and San Miguel headlining the pool alongside Blackwater, Phoenix, NLEX, and Rain Or Shine.

The grouping is based on the default draft order during Sunday's event, disregarding the trades that took place right before the proceedings.

Group A consists of teams that landed in the odd-numbered order, while the even-numbered teams are in Group B.

Teams will play twice against their opponents within the same group during the elimination round.

The inter-group phase will only begin by the quarterfinals where the top four teams from each group will face off in separate best-of-five series through a crossover format.

The quarterfinal winners will advance to the semifinals, where the survivors will play in the finals.

Both the last two rounds of the playoffs are best-of-seven series.

The PBA Governors' Cup, the first conference for the 2024-2025 season, will tip off on Aug. 18.

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