PBA Philippine Cup Predictions & Betting tips
PBA Philippine Cup 2024 Presentation and Predictions
Similar to how South American football competitions work with the Apertura and Clausura structure, a normal league season in the Philippine Basketball Association is divided into three separate competitions, called “conferences'', with each winner considered to be league champions at the end of the season. The Philippine Cup usually kicks off the PBA season as the first of these three conferences. However, this year's Philippine Cup will be the second conference played and mark the end of the 2023/24 campaign. This is due to the FIBA World Cup and Asian Games resulting in a shortened schedule.
The Philippine Cup is a unique competition in the PBA as it does not allow teams the hiring of foreign players or imports, nor naturalized Filipinos. This means that players must be born in the Philippines to compete, and as a result, many Filipinos consider it to be the most prestigious of the three conferences. We're only a few games into the start of the conference, meaning we have an action-packed season of PBA Philippine Cup basketball ahead! Keep reading below to see our thoughts as well as some invaluable betting tips and strategies to implement when making your next PBA predictions!
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2024 PBA Prediction: Who Will Win the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup?
While they will certainly be a popular pick, it’s hard to look past the San Miguel Beermen given the talent on their squad. CJ Perez might just be the best player in the PBA currently, winning both the Best Player award and the Finals MVP in the 2023/24 Commissioner's Cup, while June Mar Fajardo is the most dominant big man in the conference (especially given Justin Brownlee’s ineligibility). Additionally, San Miguel is abundant in championship pedigree, having just won the most recent conference (Commissioner's Cup) and they are also the defending champions in this conference after winning the 2022/23 Philippine Cup. As the most successful franchise in the PBA, we're backing the Beermen to win a record 30th championship. The San Miguel Beermen are our prediction to win the 2024 Philippine Cup!
2024 PBA Philippine Cup Prediction: Odds on the favorites for the PBA championship
The odds for the winner of the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup are not currently available by the bookmakers. In the meantime, be sure to check out bet365 to see the other betting markets that they have available for the Philippine Cup!
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Who Will Win the 2024 Philippine Cup Best Player of the Conference Award?
CJ Perez was finally able to capture what had previously proved to be an elusive award, securing his first Best Player of the Conference honors in the 2023/24 Commissioner's Cup. Perez, who is a three-time scoring champion (2019, 2020, 2023), two-time PBA champion, finals MVP and now BPC winner, is one of the most decorated players in the PBA currently and at the very top of the food chain. The 30-year-old will be coming into the Philippine Cup at the peak of his powers after averaging 16.9 points per game, 3.6 assists, 6.0 rebounds and only 1.6 turnovers in 30.7 minutes of play through his 21 games in the championship winning Commissioner's Cup campaign. Perez's San Miguel teammate June Mar Fajardo will be one of his main competitors for the award and, should he remain healthy, will have an excellent chance at adding yet another accolade to his resume. However, at 34 years of age and with a lot of mileage on his 6'10" frame, Fajardo's health and risk of potential injury has to be taken into account. Perez presents the more reliable option between the two in this respect.
2024 Philippine Cup Best Player odds
The odds for the Best Player award are not currently available by the bookmakers. In the meantime, be sure to check out bet365 to see the other betting markets that they have available for the Philippine Cup!
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Beginner’s Guide to How the Philippine Cup Works
The league consists of 12 teams, all who play each other once in a single round-robin format. After the 11 games are completed, the top eight teams advance to the playoffs and are are seeded first to eighth based on record. The quarterfinals see somewhat of a unique twist, following a twice-to-beat / twice-to-win structure for the #1 vs #8 and #2 vs #7 series, while the #3 vs #6 and #4 vs #5 play out a standard best-of-three format. This means that the top two seeded teams have the advantage of only needing to win once in their quarterfinal matchup, while the seventh and eighth seeds must win twice in order to advance. From there, the semifinals and the finals revert back to a standard best-of-seven series, similar to the NBA Playoffs, where the first team to win four games wins the series.
Important Dates:
Regular season: February 28 - May 5
Playoffs: exact dates TBA
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How to Make Good Predictions on PBA Philippine Cup Games?
The PBA Philippine Cup regular season consists of only 11 games, meaning every single matchup has the potential for a playoff atmosphere with how little often seperates teams in the standings. Our experts at SportyTrader have gathered five key pieces of advice to keep in mind when making your PBA predictions:
- Situational spots and team news
- Take into account the form a team’s star
- Analyze detailed statistics
- Take stock of a team's mental state
- Compare odds across bookmakers
Continue reading below for more information on each key point:
1. Situational spots and team news
Regardless of the sport or league that you are betting on, staying up to date on the latest injury news and updates is always of the upmost importance. This is especially true in a sport like basketball, where star players account for a significant amount of the offensive and defensive responsibilities. The complexion of a game can completely change should a team lose its dominant center in practice the day before a game, for example, as they'll have to adjust their game plan while the opposition will suddenly be presented with an opportunity to exploit a weakness.
Another piece of advice we can offer is to take note of where certain marquee matchups fall on the schedule. For example, Barangay Ginebra vs Magnolia, also known as the Manila Clasico, is considered to be the biggest rivalry in the league and is a highly anticipated matchup for both fans and players. The players might find it difficult to focus their attention on the game immediately preceding the rivalry clash, especially if they are going against a weaker team that they are expected to beat. This is often referred to as a "look-ahead spot".
2. Take into account the form of a team’s star
As we briefly touched on in the previous section, key players in basketball often play a larger role in determining a team's success than other team sports such as football or baseball. This is in part down to there only being five players on the court at a time for each team. The influence a truly dominant player can exert in basketball is oftentimes more pronounced than other sports, especially if they excell at both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. June Mar Fajardo is a prime example. The record seven-time MVP winner is one of the best big men that the Philippines has ever produced and he has experienced an illustrious career. He is the type of player that opposing teams will have to dedicate a majority of their time in preparing for and will have teams devising full gameplans just to slow him down. When betting, you'll want to ensure these types of players are in good form both mentally and physically as they will more often than not be the determining factor in outcome of the game.
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3. Analyze detailed statistics
It is also key that a bettor study the previous statistics of an PBA team before making a prediction involving them. There are plenty of advanced statistics to dig into, which can help provide a more clear picture of just how a team is performing. Of course, many will look at base-level stats such as points scored and points allowed. However, taking a look under the hood reveals useful information such as team pace (how many possessions a team has per 48 minutes), true shooting percentage, player-efficiency rating (PER), offensive and defensive rating among many others. The good news is that this information is widely available to be consumed!
Live betting, or in-play betting, can be a great way to read the flow of a game and take advantage of some lopsided point spreads. Basketball is a game of runs and you’ll often see double digit leads be gained and lost over the course of a single match. A common situation that occurs is when the pre-match favorite falls behind early in the game. Often the live line will offer you great odds on the stronger team that is likely to soon go on their own scoring run. Looking for a way to both follow Philippine Cup games live while also having access to a number of detailed statistics? We've provided a convenient way to do just that so you can take advantage of those profitable betting lines! Head over to our PBA Livescore page to see for yourself!
4. Take stock of a team’s mental state
Gauging a team’s motivation can also be a useful tool that, at times, is not fully accounted for by betting lines. Situational spots often come up, especially as the playoffs approach, where one team might have more incentive than their opponent to win. A team already out of contention will find it hard to play with the same intensity as a team that is battling for the final qualification spot. Similarly, a team that has already secured their position might choose to rest players in preparation for the more important elimination game coming up.
As we stated in the previous section, basketball is a game of runs. This is also true for many players, who will experience hot and cold shooting streaks throughout a season. Some players are able to return to their baseline faster than others, who may experience a prolonged stretch of poor shooting. It's important to be aware of which teams and players might be going through these kind of streaks as it will help you make more accurate predictions. Luckily for us, all of that information is easily obtained through the available statistics!
5. Compare odds across bookmakers
Our final piece of advice is one of the simplest yet often one of the most overlooked: line shopping. This simply means getting the best available odds for your bet. To do this, it is important to register accounts with several online sportsbooks as it is quite common to find differing odds for the same bet. A few points on a spread or a slightly improve moneyline price can often make the difference between a winning bet and a losing bet - in the long run these small edges add up. Additionally, you'll be able to take advantage of the litany of great welcome bonuses that are on offer at the different sportsbooks! SportyTrader makes it easy to compare odds, access new bookmakers and take advantage of bonus offers when signing up.
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What Not to Do For Your PBA Philippine Cup Predictions
To give yourself the best chance at improving your bottom line when it comes to betting on the PBA Philippine Cup, there are a few pitfalls you will want to avoid. Here are some examples of what you should be cautious of:
- Not assessing the situational spot of the teams
- Disregarding the mental state and performance of a team’s star player.
- Not accounting for a team’s home vs away performances.
- Chasing your losses (ex. Betting triple your normal amount to ‘make up for’ two previous losses).
- Not practicing proper bankroll management (you should have a fixed bet amount within your overall betting funds).
- Not comparing bookmakers to find the best possible odds on the market for your bet.
- Betting strictly on a team’s name and reputation and not accounting for recent performance and form.
- Only looking at final scores of previous games and not digging deeper into the underlying statistics.
- Disregarding the betting odds and not understanding the implied probability behind them.
- Blindly betting on your favorite team.
More than a few beginner and experienced bettors have fallen victim to one or multiple of the above habits. If you can eliminate them from your betting process and approach each game with clear, rational analysis, you’ll greatly increase your chances of turning a profit!
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Philippine Cup Prediction: Statistics You Need to Know
To give you an idea of what to expect in the current 2024 PBA Philippine Cup, we've compiled some statistics from the previous edition. Note that these figures are taken from the 2022/23 Philippine Cup and not the 2023/24 Commissioner's Cup. This is because the difference in eligibility rules for these two conferences are significant, which can often lead to much different seasonal statistics. Comparing the most recent Philippine Cup should therefore provide a better overall context:
- Overall scoring average (per team): 92.2
- Three-point shooting efficiency per team (average): 31%
- Free throw efficiency per team: 68.7%
- Average total rebounds per game (per team): 49.2
- Average assists per game (per team) : 20.5
- Average blocks per game (per team): 3.6
- Team with the highest scoring average: San Miguel Beermen (101.5)
- Team with the highest three-point shooting efficiency: Meralco Bolts (35.5%)
- Team with the highest free throw efficiency: Northport Batang Pier (72.8%)
- Team with the most rebounds per game: Blackwater / Magnolia (tied - 50.4)
- Team with the most assists per game: Barangay Ginebra (23.9)
- Team with the most blocks per game: TNT Tropang (5.0)
- Team with the most fouls per game: Meralco Bolts (25.6)
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In Short: How to Make the Right PBA Philippine Cup Predictions?
When making your Philippine Cup predictions, be sure to follow the tips and strategies laid out in this article. Remember to pay close attention to the star players on the teams involved, their overall form and the injuries and latest team news when making your next bets. Be sure to analyze the matchup by identifying key underlying statistics which should help guide you to a more accurate prediction of the game. Aways be aware of the team's schedule and make a note of the marquee matchups on their fixture list. Lastly, be sure to take advantage of our livescore PBA tool that will assist you when making your live bets. Remember that betting in-play can often lead to some extremely profitable betting situations!
Our PBA Philippine Cup Predictions of the moment
There are no previews at the moment for this competition
