Well, that was anticlimactic.
After a finals matchup that looked somewhat promising, the 2021 Philippine Cup championship turned out to be fairly lopsided.
Top-seed TNT Tropang Giga – the favorite at nearly all online Philippine sportsbooks – won the series 4-1, defeating the three-seed Magnolia Hotshots convincingly.
The game results were as follows:
- Game 1: TNT Tropang Giga 88, Magnolia Hotshots 70
- Game 2: TNT Tropang Giga 105, Magnolia Hotshots 93
- Game 3: Magnolia Hotshots 106, TNT Tropang Giga 98
- Game 4: TNT Tropang Giga 106, Magnolia Hotshots 89
- Game 5: TNT Tropang Giga 94, Magnolia Hotshots 79
The points differential for the series was substantially in favor of TNT at +54, and none of the games – save for Game 3 – was particularly close.
Hopefully, the 2022 Philippine Cup will be a bit more competitive once PBA basketball inches closer to its pre-COVID season structure.
Case in point, there’s still no word on the start of the 2021 PBA Governors’ Cup, and there’s a possibility that the conference will be canceled outright. We’ll keep you posted up as we learn more, of course.
In other Philippines gambling news, Senator Manny Pacquiao is no longer leading on the odds boards for the 2022 Philippine Presidential election.
At BetOnline Sportsbook – the best political betting site for Filipino gamblers – the current odds look like this (previous odds in parentheses):
2022 Philippine Presidential Election – Winner
- Bongbong Marcos -125 (+1500)
- Manny Pacquiao +180 (-150)
- Leni Robredo +800 (+1500)
- Isko Moreno +1000 (+1000)
- Sara Duterte-Carpio +1000 (+210)
- Bong Go +3000 (+2200)
- Alan Peter Cayetano +10000 (+5000)
- Antonio Trillanes +10000 (+5000)
PacMan is still trending in second, and at +180, he’s not too much of a longshot.
However, the 130-point swing is a bit surprising, as is Marcos’ huge turnaround on the boards. Going from +1500 to -125 over the course of a couple weeks means that the populace must be pretty high on Bongbong.
And that kind of momentum might be difficult for Pacquiao to overcome, despite the fact that the two statesmen are currently trending in fair proximity to one another.
Meanwhile, Sarah Duterte-Carpio remains a major wildcard, and she actually has until November 15 to throw her hat in the ring.
Also, it’s worth pointing out that the list of official candidates for the 2022 Philippines election is much larger than the eight challengers featured on the odds boards.
To date, a total of 97 different politicians and hopefuls have declared their candidacies, most notably Ronald dela Rosa (PDP-Laban).
While Pacquiao initially earned the PDP-Laban nomination, this was challenged and rescinded. Pacquiao is now running under the PROMDI banner.
As for dela Rosa, his nomination is “controversial” because – according to many insiders and analysts – he is serving as the PDP-Laban placeholder until Duterte-Carpio actually announces her candidacy.
At that point, the party will make her its official nominee to carry on the legacy and support the policies of her father, outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte.
How this all plays out remains to be seen, but the odds above reflect the fact that most bettors – right now – don’t believe Duterte-Carpio will actually run.
If she declares, all current polling suggests Duterte-Carpio will be the overwhelming favorite to win, which means Filipino punters can earn a nice payout taking a flyer on her chances at +1000.