Even with a three-conference format, the PBA deserves to give the Philippine Cup a double round-robin format.
So even if this is basically 1.5, it's better than their previous format.
But hell, this is not the Philippine Cup. This is the Governors' Cup we're talking about. This is good if this means the Philippine Cup will have more or the same games.
One of the reasons why non-SMC teams have trouble putting asses into seats is because they don't get enough exposure. And while fans are asking for league parity, I doubt if they will watch the games of the teams that average less than 25 games per season. Last season, only five teams had 30 games or more, and Phoenix, the Commissioner's Cup semifinalist, wasn't part of it.
Anyway, the groupings are as follows:
GROUP A | GROUP B |
TNT (REIGNING GOVS CUP CHAMPION) | SAN MIGUEL (COM CUP CHAMPION) |
MERALCO (PHL CUP CHAMPION) | GINEBRA |
MAGNOLIA (COM CUP FINALIST) | PHOENIX |
NORTHPORT | RAIN OR SHINE |
TERRAFIRMA | NLEX |
CONVERGE | BLACKWATER |
The top four teams will advance to the crossover quarterfinals with the boss of Group A going against the fourth-seed of Group B. The winners of these Best-of-5 battles will advance to the semis and into the finals.
I like the fact that there are more games and hopefully, they are going to spam their social media channels. At the moment, I think the PBA is best to watch with an online platform. Yes, they need commercials, but there are a lot of places inside the court, within its vicinity, and even with the numerous stats to insert a random product.
Instead of creating a crater in the halfcourt to unleash a new product, maybe we can have a blimp carrying your favorite ulam!