Beermen to have 1-0 record in PBA restart
San Miguel will have an advantage over the 11 other teams once the PBA pushes through with the 2020 Philippine Cup on October 9 at the Clark Freeport Zone.
As per league commissioner Willie Marcial, the Beermen’s 94-78 win over Magnolia during the season opener last March 8 will count in the team standings giving the defending champions a head start in the race for this year’s All-Filipino crown.
“Napagusapan ng board na counted ang resulta ng San Miguel at Magnolia kasi kasama yun sa season na to,” said Marcial.
The Beermen, who will be gunning for an unprecedented six straight Philippine Cup title under a compressed schedule which is expected to finish before Christmas day, will play 10 more games in the elimination round of a slightly modified conference format.
After the single-round robin eliminations, the top four teams will enjoy a twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals against the four teams in the lower bracket.
Under the original format, only the top two teams of the eliminations are twice-to-beat against the no. 8 and 7 teams, respectively. The six other ballclubs engage in a crossover, best-of-three series with no. 3 against no. 6 and no. 4 versus no. 5.
The semifinals have been reduced to a best-of-five from a best-of-seven duel.
The Finals, however, will remain a best-of-seven affair.
Games will be played at the Angeles University Foundation (AUF) gym in Angeles City while the entire PBA delegation will be housed as the Quest Hotel in Mimosa.
