As things continue to heat up in the Philippine Cup, there is a new No. 1 team in our PBA power rankings.
But are the San Miguel Beermen here to stay?
Eros Villanueva and Sid Ventura assess all 12 teams at the one-month mark of the new season.
1. San Miguel Beermen
Week 1: 2-0
Weeks 2 and 3: 2-1
Week 4: 2-0
Total: 6-1
Previous rank: 2nd
Up next: TNT Tropang Giga, Blackwater Bossing
The Beermen continue to take an upward trajectory even with Terrence Romeo (back), Vic Manuel (calf), Chris Ross (knee), and now Mo Tautuaa (infection) on the shelf. The depth feels more spread out too, with the ever-dominant June Mar Fajardo (37.2 minutes, fourth), CJ Perez (36.3, 6th) and Marcio Lassiter (35.0, 9th) logging ridiculous minutes. Jericho Cruz (13.3 points on 46.5 percent shooting) continues to take advantage of the minutes left behind by the absences, while Rodney Brondial (7.3 points, 8.1 rebounds in 22.9 minutes) has been a snug fit in the frontcourt. The top-ranked offense has been awesome (the 40-point fourth quarter vs. NorthPort Batang Pier was immensely encouraging), but will it hold against a couple of tough tests in TNT (third in defensive rating) and -- surprise! -- Blackwater (second-best defense)? -- Villanueva
2. Barangay Ginebra
Week 1: 1-0
Weeks 2 and 3: 3-1
Week 4: 1-0
Total: 5-1
Previous rank: 1st
Up next: Terrafirma Dyip, TNT Tropang Giga
The Gin Kings won their first game under interim head coach Richard Del Rosario -- who is manning the fort while Tim Cone is away -- to stay a half-game behind the Beermen. Ginebra is on a three-game winning streak and looking to extend that to four against the Dyip before their all-important clash against TNT Tropang Giga. The troika of Japeth Aguilar, reigning MVP Scottie Thompson and Christian Standhardinger have been averaging a combined 48 points for the Gin Kings, who have so far bucked a slow start from Stanley Pringle, who is shooting just 20% from beyond the arc since coming back from an ACL tear. - Ventura
3. TNT Tropang Giga
Week 1: 2-1
Weeks 2 and 3: 3-1
Week 4: 2-0
Total: 7-2
Previous rank: 4th
Up next: San Miguel Beermen, Barangay Ginebra
No team has seen the court more through four weeks of action than TNT, who has played two more games than the teams with the second-most number of games played. No team has been hotter too, as the Tropang Giga -- thanks to a hard-earned win over NorthPort and a scheduled cruise over Terrafirma Dyip -- ride the momentum of a five-game win streak entering two difficult games on the calendar in the coming week. While the defense has been great, the scoring (99.7 points per 100 possessions, seventh) is not entirely there yet. Mikey Williams, averaging a league-high 25 points on an insane 59.6 True Shooting Percentage, has done a tremendous job keeping them near league average, but Roger Pogoy (18.7 points on 39.9 FG%) and Jayson Castro (11.8 points on 38.3 FG%) have to be much, much better if they plan on retaining that Philippine Cup title. -- Villanueva
4. Blackwater Bossing
Week 1: 1-0
Weeks 2 and 3: 2-1
Week 4: 1-0
Total: 4-1
Previous rank: 3rd
Up next: Phoenix Super LPG, San Miguel Beermen
Blackwater continues to be the feel-good story of the Philippine Cup. In the Bossing's lone Week 4 appearance, Baser Amer sank his former team Meralco Bolts with a game-winning jumper with 1.2 seconds left, that extended their winning streak to three. Blackwater is just a win away from matching its entire win total over the previous five conferences, putting the team on track for its first quarterfinal appearance since the 2019 Commissioner's Cup. Top overall pick Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser finally made his long-awaited debut, but it's been second-round pick Ato Ular who's been putting up solid rookie numbers, averaging 15 points on 49% shooting from the field. -- Ventura
5. Magnolia Hotshots
Week 1: 0-2
Weeks 2 and 3: 3-1
Week 4: 1-0
Total: 4-3
Previous rank: 6th
Up next: Terrafirma Dyip
Magnolia has quietly amassed three straight wins to leave behind a dismal 1-3 start. As usual, the defense does a ton of the heavy lifting; Jio Jalalon (2.9 steals) and Mark Barroca (2.3), both in the top three in the steals department through seven games, continue to spearhead a Hotshots roadblock that held NLEX Road Warriors to 34 percent shooting with more turnovers (17) than assists (nine) on Saturday. Unfortunately, they've returned to their old ways on offense, where only Terrafirma has posted a worse offensive rating. Ian Sangalang (16.3 points on 49 FG%) and Mark Barroca (13.7 points on 41.2 FG%) continue to hold the fort with top gun Paul Lee (back) out of commission, but it's fair to wonder how much longer they can keep a rickety offense in step as the schedule gets harder after next week. -- Villanueva
6. NLEX Road Warriors
Week 1: 1-1
Weeks 2 and 3: 2-1
Week 4: 1-1
Total: 4-3
Previous rank: 5th
Up next: Converge FiberXers, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
The Road Warriors narrowly avoided a 0-2 Week 4 thanks to Calvin Oftana's heroics in their overtime win over Phoenix. But not even Oftana could save them from a 16-point loss to the Hotshots where they only scored 27 second-half points. It's been that kind of conference so far for NLEX, which is struggling with consistency and has only a two-game winning streak to show. While the Road Warriors are a respectable fifth in scoring, they are only 9th in rebounds and 11th in assists, per RealGM. Their next two games are against struggling teams and should be a good chance for them to boost their quarterfinal aspirations. -- Ventura
7. Meralco Bolts
Week 1: 1-0
Weeks 2 and 3: 2-2
Week 4: 0-1
Total: 3-3
Previous rank: 7th
Up next: Rain or Shine
A gut-wrenching, one-point loss to one-time Bolt Baser Amer and his formerly-awful Blackwater Bossing has kept Meralco right smack in the middle of the pack, where they basically own real estate. Despite a scoreless stinker from Aaron Black (0-for-9 vs. Blackwater), he remains part of the troika of Chris Newsome (16.7 points on 56 TS%, 5.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists) and Allein Maliksi (16.0 points, 44.7 percent shooting from deep on a whopping 7.6 attempts) that continue to carry the Bolts offense. Bong Quinto busting out for 18 points and eight assists vs. the Bossing is a step in the right direction, because the rest of the Meralco depth has simply been missing right now; only Ginebra is scoring less bench points as Chris Banchero (8.5 points on 38.5 FG%) and Raymond Almazan (8.5 points on 40 FG%) continue to thaw their way out of an icy start to the conference. -- Villanueva
8. Converge FiberXers
Week 1: 1-2
Weeks 2 and 3: 1-2
Week 4: 0-1
Total: 2-5
Previous rank: 9th
Up next: NLEX Road Warriors, NorthPort Batang Pier
Despite the arrival of Maverick Ahanmisi and Abu Tratter, Converge is still struggling in its maiden PBA conference. The FiberXers just couldn't keep pace with Barangay Ginebra in their lone Week 4 game as they lost their second in a row to slide further down the standings. Their offense has been a big issue; the FiberXers are just 10th in points per game, 11th in field goal percentage and 9th in assists per RealGM, as they continue to reel from the absence of leading scorer Jeron Teng, who has missed the last three games with a hip injury. -- Ventura
9. Phoenix Super LPG
Week 1: 0-2
Weeks 2 and 3: 2-2
Week 4: 0-1
Total: 2-5
Previous rank: 8th
Up next: Blackwater Bossing
The story remains the same for these Fuel Masters, an elite offense (103.3 offensive rating, third) that simply can't cobble together stops when needed (108.1 defensive rating, 10th). An overtime loss to NLEX exposed their usual ails, as Phoenix looked helpless defensively in the endgame against Calvin Oftana (22 points on 8/16 shooting and 4 treys, plus 10 rebounds and seven assists) and a Road Warriors team that, at the end of it, buried 14-of-36 3s (38 percent). They have the capability to be much better on that end of the floor with 2019 Defensive Player of the Year Sean Anthony and budding defensive star Javee Mocon occupying the forward slots; however, whether they can do that in time to start a playoff run with only four more games on their elimination round slate is an entirely different question altogether. -- Villanueva
10.NorthPort Batang Pier
Week 1: 2-0
Weeks 2 and 3: 0-3
Week 4: 0-2
Total 2-5
Previous rank: 10th
Up next: Converge FiberXers
The Batang Pier's 2-0 start is now a distant memory as they have lost five in a row. Things got even worse after leading scorer Robert Bolick suffered a leg injury against TNT and missed their game against San Miguel. Even though NorthPort is second overall in scoring, with 95.1 points per game, they haven't been able to guard anything as they've given up 112 points in their last three games. Their lone Week 5 assignment against the equally struggling FiberXers isn't a must-win just yet, but another loss would make their road to the playoffs more difficult. -- Ventura
11. Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
Week 1: 1-1
Weeks 2 and 3: 0-3
Week 4: 0-1
Total: 1-4
Previous rank: 11th
Up next: Meralco Bolts, NLEX Road Warriors
There's not a lot to be happy about if you're Rain or Shine, a team that has now lost five straight games. A six-point loss to the Beermen -- a game where they allowed six players to score double digits -- complicates any hopes of making it to the playoffs, as they essentially have to be close to perfect over the next six games just to make the quarterfinals. Again, it begins with their defense -- normally a top-three outfit, but one that has been worse than all but three teams (Phoenix, NorthPort, Terrafirma) in terms of defensive efficiency. That's not good company to be in. -- Villanueva
12.Terrafirma Dyip
Week 1: 0-2
Week 2 & 3: 0-3
Week 4: 0-1
Total: 0-6
Previous rank: 12th
Up next: Barangay Ginebra, Magnolia Hotshots
It was more of the same for the Dyip in Week 4, who are still winless after suffering a 28-point beatdown from the Tropang Giga. And with Ginebra and Magnolia waiting for them in Week 5, another early exit looms large unless they turn things around. It's been the same storyline for Terrafirma in practically all of their games: a strong first half where they put up a fight is negated by a horrendous second half where they get blown away. The Dyip are tied for last in points per game (83.7) and are dead last in field goal percentage (.366), and there's no clear path to getting more offense as only Joshua Munzon and Juami Tiongson are averaging more than 13 points per game. --Ventura