Converge, HK Eastern interesting spectators in final PBA Comm's Cup elims fixtures

Converge and Eastern eagerly await their playoff fate in a crucial Friday doubleheader to end the PBA Commissioner's Cup eliminations. PBA Images (file photo)
By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--One team wants to be the second seed.

Another team does not want to be on the opposite side of the second seed.

However, since their fate is no longer in their control, they can only just watch things unfold.

That is the situation right now of Converge and Hong Kong Eastern as they will watch the last two games of the PBA Commissioner's Cup eliminations on Friday night at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig not just for scouting purposes but also to find out which seed they will take ahead of the quarterfinals next week.

Both teams lost their last games in the eliminations, putting them in danger of missing out on what they aspire to or are trying to avoid.

The FiberXers can still clinch the second seed in the quarterfinals, which means they only need to win one quarterfinal game to make the semifinals.

However, they must hope that the Meralco Bolts beat the Magnolia Hotshots and the Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters stun the TNT Tropang Giga.

This scenario will force a four-way tie at 8-4, and Converge, with the best quotients among the four teams that could get entangled, will clinch the second seed, dropping TNT to the third seed with ROS meeting them again in a best-of-three quarterfinal series.

Anything other than that, that is, if either Magnolia or TNT wins on Friday night, TNT will be the second seed and Converge will be the third seed.

For the Long Lions, only a Tropang Giga win would keep them from falling to the seventh seed, which means they have to face the second seed with a disadvantage that only one loss will knock them out of contention.

If TNT wins, Eastern will secure the sixth seed, setting up a best-of-three date with third-seeded Converge.

A Rain Or Shine win will surely drop Eastern to the seventh seed with the former entering the best-of-three zone as the sixth seed.

Interestingly enough, the four-way logjam scenario would also lead to a quarterfinal showdown between the FiberXers and Long Lions but in the 2-versus-7 bracket, which means the former would have the once-to-win advantage, or what everyone calls the twice-to-beat edge, over the latter.

The only scenario that would not end up in a Converge-Eastern quarterfinal is if Magnolia and ROS win their last games.

NLEX might watch too just like Converge, HK Eastern

Another team that might be interested in watching the games is NLEX, which has an outright shot at making the quarterfinals.

The Road Warriors can enter the next round as high as the seventh seed if the Tropang Giga beat the Elasto Painters.

Even if they don't end up seventh, NLEX can still make it to the quarterfinals as the eighth seed without any hitch if Meralco eliminates Magnolia.

If both the Hotshots and Elasto Painters win, the Road Warriors would need to face the Purefoods franchise one more time on Sunday night for the right to face top-seeded NorthPort Batang Pier in the quarterfinals.

The four remaining PBA Comm's Cup scenarios in detail

Premises: NorthPort is the top seed; Ginebra and Meralco will face off in the quarterfinals as the fourth and fifth seeds.

1. If Meralco and Rain Or Shine win, Converge will be second, TNT will be third, ROS will be sixth, Eastern will be seventh, and NLEX will be eighth.

2. If Meralco and TNT win, TNT will be second, Converge will be third, Eastern will be sixth, NLEX will be seventh, and ROS will be eighth.

3. If Magnolia and Rain Or Shine win, TNT will be second, Converge will be third, ROS will be sixth, Eastern will be seventh, and NLEX and Magnolia will play a knockout game for the eighth seed.

4. If Magnolia and TNT win, TNT will be second, Converge will be third, Eastern will be sixth, NLEX will be seventh, and Magnolia and ROS will play a knockout game for the eighth seed.

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