The quarterfinals of the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup will begin today and four teams are set to immediately take center stage.

Two of those teams are carrying twice-to-beat incentives over their lower-ranked foes. Also, four more squads will see action on Wednesday with two of them shooting for a win that will send them straight to the semifinals.

Although teams armed with playoff bonuses have a clear advantage, it’s not yet a guarantee that the series will be a cakewalk.

Here are my predictions for the coming playoffs:

No. 1 TNT Tropang Giga vs No. 8 Phoenix Super LPG — With an eight-game winning streak, it appears that TNT is poised to carry its momentum all the way to the playoffs.

Import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, the highly-touted National Basketball Association veteran, is perfectly cut out for the Tropang Giga system and it’s obvious that the rest of the squad had been responding well.

Roger Pogoy has rediscovered his shooting touch this conference, averaging 20.6 points and a league-best 54.2 percent shooting from the three-point region.

Mikey Williams and Jayson Castro had been healthier the past few games and Calvin Oftana is now proving to be a great fit, making the Tropang Giga the overwhelming favorite against the Fuel Masters.
My pick: A decisive win by TNT.

No. 2 San Miguel vs No. 7 Converge — Once again, Converge faltered just when the tournament reached the crucial grind and now it has to make a last-minute adjustment with its new import after parting ways with the explosive, but hard-to-handle Jamaal Franklin.

This makes San Miguel the heavy favorite and although six-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo will be sidelined with a medial collateral ligament tear, import Cameron Clark, Vic Manuel and Mo Tautuaa can ably fill up the numbers left out by the 6-foot-10 slotman.

San Miguel’s firepower is likewise overwhelming with two-time scoring champion CJ Perez and Terrence Romeo coming back, Marcio Lassiter and Allyn Bulanadi providing the outside sniping and Simon Enciso and Chris Ross supplying the calming presence in the backcourt.

This Beermen squad is built to win.

My pick: A San Miguel triumph on Sunday.

No. 3 Barangay Ginebra San Miguel vs No. 6 NLEX — The Kings’ winning run was halted by the Tropang Giga on the final day of the elimination round, but that doesn’t mean it has broken the spirits of the defending champions.

Don’t be surprised if they will come out smoking when they take on the Road Warriors.

The league’s most popular team is just too experienced not to get past its opponent with Justin Brownlee making a strong case for another Best Import run and Christian Standhardinger playing an MVP-type performance.

Also, don’t forget reigning MVP Scottie Thompson, who is practically doing it all, as well as the massive Ginebra crowd, which has always been serving as its pillar of strength.
My pick: A Ginebra victory on Sunday

No. 4 Meralco vs No. 5 Magnolia — If there’s one series that can be considered as a toss-up, it’s the Meralco-Magnolia encounter and it won’t be surprising if the Hotshots extend the series or even make it two in a row against the Bolts.

The Hotshots had found the perfect import in Antonio Hester and unless the Bolts can put them away this early, coach Chito Victolero and his troops can exact revenge against the team that denied them a chance of making the championship round in the same tournament last season.

How far can the Bolts go will depend on K. J. McDaniels, who has a chip on his shoulders of finally getting the recognition he deserves in his fourth tour of duty in the PBA.

But I would go with Magnolia, which has won six of its last seven games to put itself back in strong contention.

My pick: Magnolia winning back-to-back.

There goes my selection for the coming playoffs and I hope my choices are as good as yours.