NLEX, San Miguel dispute No. 1 seed

Games today:

(Ynares Center-Antipolo)

5:15 p.m. — San Miguel Beer vs NLEX

7:30 p.m. — Rain or Shine vs Magnolia

NLEX and San Miguel Beer dispute the top seeding in the quarterfinals in an end of group stage encounter in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors’ Cup today at the Ynares Center-Antipolo.

The Road Warriors only need to repeat over the Beermen in their 5:15 p.m. clash to secure the No. 1 seed in Group A heading into the crossover best-of-five quarters.

NLEX sits on solo top spot with a 9-2 win-loss record and is on a back-to-back winning streak — all blowouts.

The Road Warriors recorded the league’s biggest winning margin with a 138-78 crushing of guest team Macau in the resumption of hostilities after a two-month break to give way to Gilas Pilipinas’ campaign in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

NLEX then blasted Titan Ultra, 147-115, last week as it primed up for the big showdown against the Beermen.

“I think it’s one of the best games that you can play before the playoffs because you’re playing against a champion team, a team that has dominated here in the PBA for quite some time,” Road Warriors head coach Jimmy Alapag said.

“So, it will be a great test for our guys as we prepare for the quarterfinals.”

NLEX defeated San Miguel, 110-96, in the first round.

Holding an 8-3 card, the Beermen can still secure the top seeding in the group to face the No. 4 seed in Group B but would need to win by at least 15 points to end up with a higher quotient in a tie with the Road Warriors at 9-3.

San Miguel head coach Leo Austria is not particular with the team’s position in the quarters. What he wants is to build momentum.

“Whatever happens, No. 1 or No. 2, we should be okay but we’d still be going for a win. I tell my team to always go for the win, even if it’s a no-bearing, so that we won’t miss our sharpness,” Austria said.

The Beermen are coming off a 135-105 victory over Terrafirma last year.

“It’s our last elimination game so we need to push so we could build momentum heading to the playoffs. This will help us with our confidence and also to see where we need to improve on,” Austria said.

Meanwhile, Magnolia tries to lock the No. 1 seed in Group B against Rain or Shine in the main game at 7:30 p.m.

The Hotshots carry a 6-3 slate, and a win will secure them the spot.

After a 97-98 loss to the Elasto Painters, Magnolia has won five straight games.