Saddled with losing records halfway through their elimination round schedules, the Tropang Texters (2-3) and the Bolts (2-4) go to war in a desperate effort to prop up their chances of joining the top six teams that will advance to the semifinals.
The Bolts battle the Air21 Express in the 5:15 p.m. contest, while the Texters, runners-up in this same tournament last year, take on the Barako Bull Energy in the 7:30 p.m. game.
Meralco is mired in eighth spot, while the Texters are just a rung better after rocky starts that had both teams losing two straight games at one point.
Air21 is also fighting for dear life, and another loss could put the Express out of commission together with idle Alaska, which has a 1-6 record even with still two weeks left in the elimination round.
As things stand, Rain or Shine and B-Meg have both booked appearances in the semifinals, with Powerade and defending champion Petron Blaze just a win shy of making it.
Zach Graham has stood out as the most prolific import in the tournament, but the Express haven’t been able to rally behind him. As it is they could miss the cut for the third straight time this season.
Meralco, on the other hand, will be coming off a 77-81 loss to league-leader Rain or Shine and the Bolts are hoping to win for the second time in their last three matches and remain in strong contention.
Talk ‘N Text snapped out of its first losing spell in months with an 80-72 road win over Alaska on Saturday and is highly favored over the Energy, who showed luckluster form in dropping their last game.
The Energy fell, 90-100, to the Elasto Painters on Sunday after lagging behind by as many as 19 points—a far cry from the poise that carried them to two previous wins.
Leroy Hickerson of Barako Bull and Paul Harris of Talk ‘N Text will provide an interesting sidelight with the two versatile imports capable of rescuing their squads at any stage of the game.
