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They’re back

Talk N Text
Talk N Text players.

BRACE yourself for more action-packed PBA Philippine Cup games at the Angeles University Foundation (AUF) Sports Arena starting Tuesday.

In fact, a total of 30 games will be played in nine straight days.

Five of them will even be quadruple-headers — a first in the league’s 45-year history –which will be played in the morning and lasting up to the evening.

The decision to come up with a revised but hectic schedule came as PBA officials hope to make up for the delays due to the suspension of four playdates and a total of 12 games due to health and safety concerns.

And with the latest round of testing showing players of all 12 teams negative of the deadly coronavirus diseases, the second half of the eliminations finally resumes today.

Interestingly, defending champion San Miguel Beer (4-2) and Blackwater (2-3) will square off in a rare morning game at 10 a.m.

The Beermen-Elite match will be followed by the game between Phoenix Super LPG (4-3) and Terrafirma (0-5) at 1 p.m.

Talk N Text (5-1) and NorthPort (1-4) clash at 4 p.m., before Barangay Ginebra (4-2) and Alaska (5-3) meet in the fourth game at 6:45 p.m.

It’s very unusual for us. Hindi pa namin alam ano ang magiging impact nito sa amin. Para kaming naglalaro sa international competition,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria when told about the early schedule of game.

But it’s a matter of adjusting to the situation. Lahat naman ng teams dadaan sa ganyan, so we just have to do our best,” said Austria.

Six games in nine days will not be easy but we will do our very best to still be in contention for the next round,” said Blackwater coach Nash Racela.

We’re still remaining positive despite the grueling schedule we are facing,” added Racela.

In all, there will be five featured quadruple headers in a nine-day span as the league hopes to end the eliminations on time by Nov. 11.

Two triple-headers and two double-headers sum up the amended timetable.

Magnolia, Meralco, Talk N Text, Ginebra, San Miguel, Rain or Shine, NorthPort, Blackwater and Terrafirma all have back-to-back assignments after seeing action in six games and below.

Alaska, which already played the most games at eight, will have a rest in between game days together with Phoenix and NLEX, which both had seven outings.

Games Tuesday:
(AUF Sports Arena)
10 a.m. — Blackwater vs. San Miguel
1 p.m. — Phoenix vs.Terrafirma
4 p.m. — NorthPort vs.Talk N Text
6:45 p.m. — Ginebra vs. Alaska