The PBA announced that the Meralco Bolts and the Alaska Aces will rejoin the home stretch of the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup elimination round, marking the first time all 12 teams will compete in the same week in Bacolor, Pampanga.
While the Bolts (5-2) only got a two-game week ahead with a day’s rest in between, the Aces (2-4) got the short end of the stick as they are slated for three straight games from Friday, September 17, to Sunday, September 19.
They will face the reeling, but ever-dangerous defending champion Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (3-5), the top-seeded TNT Tropang Giga (8-1), and finally, the unpredictable Terrafirma Dyip (3-6), in that grueling order.
Meanwhile, Meralco will make its return with a Terrafirma match on Thursday, September 16, 2 pm, before facing also-ran Blackwater Bossing (0-9) on Saturday, September 18, 2 pm.
An interesting double-header will start the week on Wednesday, September 15, as TNT guns for twice-to-beat advantage with a win against the streaking NorthPort Batang Pier (4-3) at 2 pm.
Ginebra will then jockey for playoff position against a fellow squad playing catch-up in the win column, the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters (4-5) at 4 pm.
The Magnolia Hotshots, losers of three of their last five games, will try to get back on track with a pair of wins against NorthPort on Friday, 12:30 pm, and fellow powerhouse sister team San Miguel Beermen (5-3) on Sunday, 4:35 pm.
As the rest of the league will be busy figuring out their possible landing spots in the standings, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (6-4) only have one game left in their elims calendar against NorthPort on Sunday, 2 pm.
Barring any more mid-week postponements, Rain or Shine, TNT, Magnolia, Phoenix, and Terrafirma will finish their elims runs this week.
Blackwater, NLEX, Ginebra, NorthPort, and San Miguel will each have one game left, while Meralco and Alaska will be left with two more. – Rappler.com
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