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| Ending up in a long logjam at 7-4 may not be the best way to go for Converge in its Top 4 bid. PBA Images (file photo) |
MANILA--Converge has no other resort but to beat San Miguel on Wednesday night if the team still wants to capture a twice-to-beat advantage in the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals.
However, just merely beating the Beermen is the only thing the FiberXers can control as the other factors for the league's new "Ube Republic" to enter the Top 4 will lie on the other results in the final three doubleheaders of the conference's elimination round.
A win will move Converge up to 7-4 to end their preliminary campaign, but that would just tie them in wins with SMB, Ginebra, and Magnolia.
Take note that the FiberXers lost both to the Hotshots and Gin Kings by huge margins (12 and 19, respectively), so Converge cannot hope just hope for Magnolia and Ginebra to lose their remaining games to TNT and Rain Or Shine, respectively.
In fact, based on unofficial quotient computations by Dugout Philippines, the FiberXers, assuming they beat the Beermen, might rather hope for both the Hotshots and Gin Kings to win and hope too that the NorthPort Batang Pier would shock the Beermen.
That would create a scenario of three teams with eight wins at least and Converge and SMB ending up tied for fourth at 7-4, which means the FiberXers, thanks to the winner-over-the-other rule, would have a twice-to-beat advantage against the Beermen in the quarterfinals.
However, if TNT and ROS turn back Magnolia and Ginebra, respectively, the said teams will end up at 7-4, and if Converge beats SMB too, it would become a five-team logjam, a wild scenario that may not favor the FiberXers.
Converge currently has a point differential of minus-15 assuming the five-way tie happens, which could not be enough to land the fourth seed depending on the final outcome of the TNT-Magnolia and ROS-Ginebra games.
The FiberXers could get some help if the Beermen also end up at 7-4, forcing an even wilder six-way logjam.
For Converge to get a better shot at the Top 4, though, it may need to blow SMB out, which, knowing how dominant its upcoming opponent is in the Philippine Cup, is easier said than done.
Of course, a Beermen win on Wednesday night will drop the FiberXers to the wrong side of the twice-to-beat edge outright.
Needless to say, Converge's Top 4 hope is just hanging by the thread.
Follow him on X: @IvanSaldajeno
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