DEFENDING champion San Miguel will carry with it a 1-0 edge against the rest of the field when the Philippine Cup gets to restart by October.
The PBA Board decided during its meeting on Thursday to carry over the Beermen's 94-78 victory over the Magnolia Hotshots on opening day as the lone conference of the season will still adopt the original format albeit with some minor revisions especially during the playoffs.
The Hotshots meanwhile, hold a 0-1 record.
It was the only game played during the opener before the league shut down its operations three days after following the surge in cases of COVID-19.
That means both San Miguel and Magnolia only have 10 games to be played inside the league bubble at the New Clark City in Angeles, Pampanga.
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The rest of the 10 ballclubs will still have 11 regular games to play.
"Pinag-usapan yan sa Board, counted yun kasi kasama yun sa season na ito," said commissioner Marcial. "So 1-0 ang San Miguel."
As per previous league format, the eliminations will be a single round robin, with the Top Eight teams advancing to the playoffs.
The four ballclubs which had the best record at the end of the eliminations, however, 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.
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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. (RG)
