BLACKWATER and RnWPacific Pipes shoot for quarterfinal berth when they face each other today to close out their elimination round campaign in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup.

The knockout match is set 2 p.m. at the The Arena in San Juan with both sides trying to overcome string of loses.

Blackwater and Pacific Pipes are tied at 4-5 (win-loss) along with Café France, hard-pressed to win its last assignment against leader NLEX (8-1) at 4 o’clock to force a playoff for the last quarterfinal spot.

The challenge for the Elite is how to stop the bleeding that threatens to imperil their playoff bid.

After a 3-0 start, the Elite went on a six-game losing skid. They only managed to stay in the playoff race after PBA Commissioner Chito Salud nullified Cobra Energy Drink’s 72-66 victory against them last week for fielding an ineligible player.

The Steel Masters (4-5), on the other hand, have lost three of four, including their last two games against NLEX and Freego Jeans (7-3).

“I just hope that we could be motivated after losing those back-to-back games,” said Pacific Pipes coach Topex Robinson. He said defense will be their key to making the next round.

“Our main focus is on making stops. The last two games we allowed our opponents to score 90 points,” Robinson noted.

Café France coach Egay Macaraya admitted it will be very tough to beat a powerhouse team like NLEX, but said they are ready for the challenge.

“Medyo mabigat ang laban but we’ll try our best. Whatever happens I’m proud of what we have accomplished this conference,” said Macaraya.