MANILA, Philippines — NLEX goes for no less than a victory in its chase for a playoff spot when it faces Barangay Ginebra in the main game as the PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup double-round elimination hits the homestretch on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Road Warriors snapped their four-game losing streak after lambasting the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 104-79 on Friday to keep their post-season hopes alive.
Now, the charges of coach Jong Uichico (4-5) will go all out for the win in their 7:30 p.m. match against the Gin Kings (6-3).
Meanwhile, the first game starting at 5 p.m. features Group A leader TNT (7-2) and NorthPort (3-6).
Uichico is well aware that NLEX still controls its own destiny as far as earning a spot in playoffs is concerned.
"We just have to carry over what we did today (Friday). Hopefully, we come up with a win again on Sunday," Uichico said, whose team led by as many as 33 points in cruising to the comfortable victory.
NLEX holds a half-game edge over Blackwater (3-5) in the race for the fourth and final playoff berth in Group B as of this writing.
The Bossing have an unenviable assignment in their last two games, with the squad still playing the powerhouse San Miguel Beermen as of press time, before closing the eliminations against Group B leader Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
Should NLEX and Blackwater end up tied at 5-5 at the close of the eliminations, the Road Warriors will win the tiebreaker on the strength of their +6 point differential or 1.0305 quotient.
Simply put, the Bossing will need to finish the elims with more wins than the Road Warriors to secure the fourth and final playoff berth.
As for Ginebra, should the charges of coach Tim Cone end up tied with SMB at 7-3 at the close of the elimination round, the Beermen will earn the lock at no. 2 while the Gin Kings will be relegated to no. 3 based on the PBA quotient that will break the deadlocks and determine the final playoff rankings.
Ginebra loses the tiebreak following its 49-point thrashing at the hands of San Miguel a week ago.