Courtesy: PBA Images
Newly-appointed NLEX head coach Jimmy Alapag will have his baptism of fire when the Road Warriors take on guest team Macau Giant Pandas in the Tpm main game on opening day of the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup.
The PBA has released the schedule the season-ending conference which unfolds on July 10, Friday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The NLEX-Macau matchup comes after the Terrafirma Dyip and the Titan Ultra Giant Risers game at 5:15 pm
Meanwhile, TNT will open its title defense against the Giant Pandas on July 19 at the Araneta Coliseum, while recently-crowned Commissioner’s Cup champion Barangay Ginebra starts its bid on the same day against the Phoenix Fuelmasters.
This season’s Governors’ Cup will feature a unique two-group format The 13 teams were divided into two groups based on weighted averages from previous conferences.
Group A has TNT, San Miguel Beer, Converge, NLEX, Titan Ultra, Terrafirma and Macau.
On the other hand, Group B is comprised of Barangay Ginebra, Rain or Shine, Meralco, Magnolia, Blackwater, and Phoenix.
Teams will play double round-robin matches within their groups, followed by crossover quarterfinals, best-of-five semifinals, and a best-of-seven championship series.
Due to the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers and the 2026 Asian Games, the tournament schedule is broken up into multiple phases to accommodate Gilas Pilipinas,with the league taking a break from August 15 to October 6, and from November 9 to December 3, just before the conference semifinals.
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