Basketball
PBA D-League: Teams ready to fight for playoff positioning
Nine teams in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup resume their battle for positioning seeking to improve their chances of extending their campaign as the conference swings back into action on Tuesday after the Christmas break.
With cellar dwellers DUB Unlimited and Cobra Energy Drink already out of contention, three teams will be juggling it out for two of the outright semifinals slot while the rest will duke it out for four seats in the quarterfinal round barring any major letdown among teams in the upper echelon.
Currently, Cebuana Lhuillier and the NLEX Road Warriors hold the top two spots in the team standings with Freego Jeans in third. The fortunes of the Gems (8-1) and the Road Warriors (5-1) are resting on their own hands with the Jeans Makers (6-2) are on the outside looking in.
The Gems actually have the most uncomplicated scenario among the three teams. All they have to do is win against NLEX on January 12 and they are in the semifinals.
The Road Warriors still have a lot of work to do as they need to sweep their remaining four games against Boracay Rum on Tuesday, RnW Pacific Pipes on Thursday, Cebuana Lhuillier on January 10 and Café France on January 17 to avoid any complications.
For the Jeans Makers, a semifinal slot will rest on the results of the Cebuana Lhuillier and NLEX matches. A playoff for the last semifinal berth is a possibility but first, Freego needs to win their remaining games against Café France on Tuesday and RnW Pacific Pipes on January 9. The worst case scenario for the Jeans Makers isn’t all bad as they can still have a twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals.
That incentive in the quarterfinals remains a wide-open race among teams in the middle pack but only two can have that right.
Big Chill has the upper hand in that race holding the fourth spot with a 6-3 win-loss record. The Superchargers’ last assignment in the elimination round is against Blackwater on January 12 and a win will likely clinch twice-to-win edge for the quarters.
Right behind Big Chill are RnW Pacific Pipes (4-3), Boracay Rum (4-4) and Blackwater (3-3), whose chances in the quarterfinals remain strong. But the Steelmasters have the toughest schedule among the three teams with NLEX (Thursday) and Freego (January 9) on the schedule before wrapping up the eliminations versus Blackwater (January 17). The Waves, on the other hand, have NLEX (Tuesday) and PC Gilmore (January 10) while the Elite will be the busiest with games against PC Gilmore (Thursday), Cobra (January 9), Big Chill (January 12) and RnW Pacific Pipes (January 17).
Gasping but still alive are Café France (2-5) and PC Gilmore (2-5), which will be more than happy just to advance into the quarterfinals. PC Gilmore, which notched two straight victories before the holiday break, will have an easy schedule with a date with DUB Unlimited on Tuesday and Blackwater on January 9.
