1. Bay Area Dragons (6-1)
Previous ranking: 1st
Bay Area is sitting pretty atop our Power Rankings and are expected to come out of a two-week break on Nov. 4 looking rejuvenated and ready to take on all comers with six games left on their schedule. The Dragons have a chance to pad their record right off the bat when they take on Meralco, a team dealing with a slew of injuries and an import that has not lived up to expectations. That might also be the last game that import Andrew Nicholson will play, unless the Dragons decide to go with him over Myles Powell the rest of the tournament. -- Villanueva
Up next: Meralco Bolts (Nov. 4)
2. Magnolia Hotshots (5-1)
Previous ranking: 2nd
The Hotshots will have to wait eight days to try to get back on the winning track after Severe Tropical Storm Paeng postponed their Oct. 29 game against Rain or Shine. By the time they face the Blackwater Bossing on Nov. 6, it would have been two weeks since their Manila Clasico collapse against Barangay Ginebra. Magnolia hopes to start another winning streak to firm up its bid for one of the top two spots and a coveted twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals. -- Ventura
Up next: Blackwater Bossing (Nov. 6)
3. Converge FiberXers (5-2)
Previous ranking: 3rd
The run-and-gun FiberXers began the week by setting a franchise record in points scored (130) and sinking the seventh-most 3s in a PBA game (21) before capping it off with an ugly win over Blackwater where they only scored 77 points. That was the first time they scored under 100 this conference. A win is a win, though, and after a fourth straight victory, coach Aldin Ayo's squad now owns the third-best record at the halfway mark of the conference. Sustaining this surge up until a likely playoff appearance hinges on a couple of things: health and defense. Justin Arana left early against the Bossing after limping off with a non-contact injury that Ayo dismissed postgame as cramps. This would be the best case scenario for a Converge side that has leaned on the 6-foot-7 center to man the interior for a defense that ranked ninth among 13 teams heading into Sunday. -- Villanueva
Up next: NLEX Road Warriors (Nov. 5)
4. Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters (5-3)
Previous ranking: 4th
Fun fact: The Phoenix Fuel Masters haven't lost a game since a rumor broke out about the team's franchise being put up for sale. Wins over the Elasto Painters and the TNT Tropang Giga in Week 5 pushed their run to five, tying the Hotshots for the longest so far this conference. Rookie Tyler Tio slowed down a bit over their last two games, averaging just 6.5 points on 3-of-14 shooting, but he hit two big free throws with two seconds left against the Tropang Giga to give them some breathing room. With Tio cooling down, fellow rookie Encho Serrano has been steady and proven to be the barometer for the team. Serrano has averaged 16.2 points during their winning streak after posting just 5.0 points per game when they went 0-3 to start the conference. -- Ventura
Up next: Converge FiberXers (Nov. 9)
5. Barangay Ginebra (4-2)
Previous ranking: 5th
A predictable win over the Terrafirma Dyip on Saturday served as a decent warmup for the Gin Kings, who gave 11 players over 10 minutes of playing time while limiting all but one player (Justin Brownlee) to under 30 minutes of action. Ginebra's halfcourt offense is still pretty much a work in progress, but it's fair to expect that part of their offense to get going past the halfway mark of the tournament. A big matchup against San Miguel awaits at the tail end of a six-day break, and it should serve as a good barometer of the squad's readiness to step it up as wins and margins become increasingly crucial once the elimination round winds down. -- Villanueva
Up next: San Miguel (Nov. 6)
6. San Miguel Beermen (3-3) Previous ranking: 8th
The Beermen's momentum was stymied somewhat after Paeng postponed their Oct. 29 clash with the Meralco Bolts, this after they won their only Week 5 game against the NorthPort Batang Pier to push their modest winning streak to two. Devon Scott is averaging 25.5 points, 13 rebounds and 6.5 assists and shooting 50% from the field in the two wins, while Jericho Cruz has also stepped up, hitting double digits in back-to-back games after failing to score no more than 8 points in SMB's first four games. The Beermen's extended break will hopefully be enough to get Marcio Lassiter back after the sharpshooter sat out the NorthPort game due to health and safety protocols. They'll need him too: Up next is a clash with a resurgent Barangay Ginebra side. -- Ventura
Up next: Barangay Ginebra (Nov. 6)
7. TNT Tropang Giga (3-4)
Previous ranking: 7th
Is trouble brewing in TNT? Days after letting Converge drop 130 points in a loss where they trailed by as many as 35, the Tropang Giga lost a second consecutive game after bowing to the red-hot Phoenix Fuel Masters. That loss was prefaced by the loss of Mikey Williams, suspended for a week by TNT management for habitually missing practices. Team manager Jojo Lastimosa hardly minced words when asked to explain Williams' suspension and said the 4th overall pick of the 46th Season is "not being a good teammate" for failing to offer an apology for his absences and allegedly often refusing to talk to anybody during practices, per reports on Sunday. The debacle adds another layer of challenge to the lackluster and surprisingly mediocre Tropang Giga campaign, which could unravel completely (after a scheduled win over Terrafirma on Sunday) if the situation festers in the coming weeks. -- Villanueva
Up next: Terrafirma Dyip (Nov. 5)
8. NorthPort Batang Pier (3-4)
Previous ranking: 6th
The Batang Pier's long break apparently didn't do them any good after they lost by 18 for a second straight time in their lone Week 5 game. The loss also saw them lose Arwind Santos to a sore knee. It also hasn't helped that Robert Bolick has crashed back to earth after his 44-point explosion -- averaging just 12.7 points and shot 19-of-52 from the field. NorthPort's offense has been problematic as the team ranks 11th in points per game (93.4) and it's minus-6.9 point differential is the second-largest, ahead of only the winless Terrafirma Dyip. -- Ventura
Up next: Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (Nov. 4)
9. Blackwater Bossing (3-5) Previous ranking: 9th
Losing to Converge for a second straight loss isn't ideal, but you have to give credit to Blackwater as they held the league's second-hottest offense to under 80 points (and days after they blew out one of the PBA's best defenses, no less) is no small feat. At its very core, this team is vastly different from the one that lost a league-record 29 straight games earlier this year, despite possessing a similar roster. They've shown flashes of playoff potential during stretches but, with just five games left on their schedule, the Bossing are running out of time. The uphill climb is made more difficult without lead guard Baser Amer, who was playing tremendous basketball before suffering a grade-2 calf strain that will likely keep him out for two weeks, per reports. -- Villanueva
Up next: Magnolia Hotshots (Nov. 6)
10. Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (3-4)
Previous ranking: 10th
Another team to have their Oct. 29 game postponed due to Paeng, the Elasto Painters are still in search of consistency. The team has gone 1-3 in its last four games after starting the conference 2-1, prompting coach Yeng Guiao to publicly call out Steve Taylor, Jr. after the import took just 12 shots in their loss to Phoenix. The rest of the team also needs to step up though as Rain or Shine is 12th in field goal shooting (40.4%) and dead last in steals (5.9) and blocks (1.9) per game. Four imports are averaging more blocks per game than Rain or Shine are as a team. -- Ventura
Up next: NorthPort Batang Pier (Nov. 4)
11. NLEX Road Warriors (3-3)
Previous ranking: 11th
No movement here from the Road Warriors, who are in the middle of a 13-day break that began after a 124-116 loss to San Miguel on Oct. 23. There's a very real chance that NLEX shows up as a better team once they hit the court on Nov. 5 against the streaking Converge. Their success hinges on coach Frankie Lim's players patching up a leaky defense that has allowed 111.3 points per 100 possessions through six games. That ranks 12 among 13 teams -- thanks to some spotty point-of-attack defense and an inconsistent frontline that blocks a lot of shots (5.3, third) but gives up a ton of offensive rebounds (15.3, second-most). -- Villanueva
Up next: Converge FiberXers (Nov. 5)
12. Meralco Bolts (1-5)
Previous ranking: 12th
The Bolts' lone Week 5 game was also called off due to Paeng, which gave them a few more days to search for yet another replacement for Johnny O'Bryant after original replacement import Jessie Govan was measured above the conference height limit. Whether it's still O'Bryant or a new face that takes the court in their next game, he'll have his work cut out for him as the Bolts will take on the well-rested league-leading Bay Area Dragons. Another loss here would push Meralco closer to elimination, so now would be a good time for them to pull off the upset of the conference. -- Ventura
Up next: Bay Area Dragons (Nov. 4)
13. Terrafirma Dyip (0-7)
Previous ranking: 13th
Terrafirma has now lost 23 straight games -- six away from tying the league record. Nothing new here. -- Villanueva
Up next: TNT Tropang Giga (Nov. 5)