Push Admin

PBA: Teams jockeying for playoff position need to win – and win big

Article (news)

Dominic Menor, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/news-special1/sports/12/29/pba-122916.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Alaska coach Alex Compton said he doesn&#x27;t mind opposing teams running up the score if it meant improving their quotient. Photo courtesy of the PBA Media Bureau</div></figcaption></figure></div>The notion commonly heard in basketball is a win is a win, whether it’s by 1 point or 30.In the PBA Philippine Cup, which employs a simple but debatable tiebreaker method, not being mindful of the margin of victory — or defeat — can prove costly for teams.The current tournament uses what is called a &quot;quotient system&quot; as a way to break ties. A quotient, simply put, is the difference between the total points scored by a team and those scored by its opponents.If teams end up with identical win-loss records, the one with the better quotient is ranked higher in the standings. <table border="1" cellPadding="3" cellSpacing="3" style="width:100%" width="737"><colgroup><col/><col/></colgroup><tbody><tr bgcolor="#2f75b5" height="20"><td colSpan="5" height="20" style="height:20px;width:323px;color:white;text-align:center">PBA Philippine Cup standings</td></tr><tr bgcolor="#d9d9d9" height="20" style="text-align:center"><td height="20" style="height:20px">Team</td><td>Won</td><td>Lost</td><td>Pct</td><td>Quotient</td></tr><tr height="20" style="text-align:center"><td height="20" style="height:20px">San Miguel</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>0.83</td><td>8.3</td></tr><tr bgcolor="#d9d9d9" height="20" style="text-align:center"><td height="20" style="height:20px">Rain or Shine</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>0.67</td><td>7.5</td></tr><tr height="20" style="text-align:center"><td height="20" style="height:20px">TNT</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>0.67</td><td>2.5</td></tr><tr bgcolor="#d9d9d9" height="20" style="text-align:center"><td height="20" style="height:20px">Blackwater</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>0.57</td><td>0.4</td></tr><tr height="20" style="text-align:center"><td height="20" style="height:20px">Phoenix</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>0.57</td><td>-6.7</td></tr><tr bgcolor="#d9d9d9" height="20" style="text-align:center"><td height="20" style="height:20px">Star</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>0.50</td><td>9.0</td></tr><tr height="20" style="text-align:center"><td height="20" style="height:20px">GlobalPort</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>0.50</td><td>2.5</td></tr><tr bgcolor="#d9d9d9" height="20" style="text-align:center"><td height="20" style="height:20px">Alaska</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>0.50</td><td>2.0</td></tr><tr height="20" style="text-align:center"><td height="20" style="height:20px">Ginebra</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>0.50</td><td>1.0</td></tr><tr bgcolor="#d9d9d9" height="20" style="text-align:center"><td height="20" style="height:20px">Meralco</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>0.33</td><td>0.2</td></tr><tr height="20" style="text-align:center"><td height="20" style="height:20px">Mahindra</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>0.17</td><td>-12.0</td></tr><tr bgcolor="#d9d9d9" height="20" style="text-align:center"><td height="20" style="height:20px">NLEX</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>0.17</td><td>-13.7</td></tr><tr height="20"><td colSpan="5" height="20" style="height:20px;width:323px">Standings updated after Dec. 28, Wednesday games. Quotients are unofficial.</td></tr></tbody></table>While winning as many games as possible is the primary objective, amassing a bigger quotient becomes just as crucial as collecting wins.If the Philippine Cup ended today, for example, Rain or Shine and TNT would be tied with 4-2 records, but Rain or Shine would get the No. 2 seed because the Elasto Painters have a superior quotient. The Nos. 1 and 2 teams get a twice-to-beat advantage, while the Nos. 3 to 6 teams engage in a best-of-3 series.Star, GlobalPort, Alaska and Barangay Ginebra have identical 3-3 records. In this scenario, Star would qualify for the best-of-3 playoffs, while Ginebra could miss the eight-team cut.Alaska head coach Alex Compton had the quotient in mind when his team <a href="http://www.spin.ph/basketball/pba/news/alex-compton-says-sorry-to-franz-pumaren-after-calvin-abueva-takes-shot-with-result-already-decided" target="_blank">played</a> GlobalPort in early December.Compton and co. were well on their way to victory but he thought it necessary for his team to make one more basket just before the buzzer sounded. Alaska ended up winning 95-84.He said he didn’t mean to maliciously run up the score. Compton even took the time to clarify to GlobalPort that the shot by Calvin Abueva was not meant to disrespect the game; the point differential was his only concern.&quot;(Last conference) we were tied 6-5 with Mahindra and Meralco. So we dropped down to sixth and we had to play Ginebra, which had a twice to beat, and it didn&#x27;t work out for us. Whereas if we had a couple more baskets, we&#x27;re in with a twice-to-beat and a change to go deeper,&quot; Compton said.While teams want to win as big as possible, the flipside is they don&#x27;t want to lose by a lot either.Phoenix is sporting a winning record, but two losses by 44 and 19 points could come back to haunt the Fuel Masters.Mahindra and NLEX still have a puncher&#x27;s chance at advancing past the preliminary round, but their negative quotients might harm their odds.Not all coaches are on board with the quotient system.Barangay Ginebra&#x27;s Tim Cone has been a vocal <a href="http://www.spin.ph/basketball/news/tim-cone-slams-pba-purefoods-quotient-format-system-barako-bull-philippine-cup-playoffs" target="_blank">opponent</a> of the tiebreaker, saying it&#x27;s a &quot;disservice&quot; to teams that are eliminated.&quot;If you want to (use the quotient) between three and four or four and five, fine. But not when it means something,&quot; Cone said in 2014 when he was still coaching Purefoods. In a tournament where a fraction of a point could determine who advances and who goes home, coaches such as Compton will do anything to make sure they put their team in the best position to win.&quot;I won&#x27;t have any problem with any coach that does that to us,&quot; Compton said. With Alaska sitting in eighth place and in danger of elimination, Compton knows that to stay alive his team needs to start winning — and winning big.For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/" target="_blank">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.

The notion commonly heard in basketball is a win is a win, whether it’s by 1 point or 30. In the Philippine Cup, not being mindful of the margin of victory — or defeat — can prove costly.

The notion commonly heard in basketball is a win is a win, whether it’s by 1 point or 30. In the Philippine Cup, not being mindful of the margin of victory — or defeat — can prove costly.

PBA: Teams jockeying for playoff position need to win – and win big

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

Sports

PBA: Teams jockeying for playoff position need to win – and win big

Dominic Menor,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 30, 2016 02:16 AM PHT

Read More:

basketball

PBA

Alaska

Alex Compton

Tim Cone

TNT

Ginebra

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.