TNT, Ginebra poised for another PBA championship showdown
Games on Friday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
5 p.m. – TNT vs Rain or Shine*
7:30 p.m. – Ginebra vs NorthPort*
*TNT, Ginebra lead series, 3-1
UNLESS their respective semifinal opponents do something about it, TNT and Barangay Ginebra are poised for yet another title showdown.
Holding 3-1 leads, the Tropang Giga and the Gin Kings try to clear their paths to the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Last Dance on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
If successful, it would be a rivalry duel for the two, which battled for supremacy in the last two editions of the Governors’ Cup with TNT winning both times.
For the Tropang Giga, Game 5 is about striking while it has tough Rain or Shine (ROS) to a corner after their pivotal 93-85 Game 4 win last Wednesday.
For Ginebra, it’s making the most of its second chance to reach the best-of-seven championship after bungling its first attempt at a 4-0 sweep of NorthPort two nights before, 103-108.
While the series count may connote a one-sided contest, TNT coach Chot Reyes stressed the clash with ROS is anything but. All games so far went down to the wire with the PLDT franchise winning by an average of 4.67 points and ROS taking Game 3 by five.
“We talked about it and we know that it’s going to be a very difficult series for us,” said Mr. Reyes ahead of their 5 p.m. clincher bid.
“But like I said, we’re very grateful to be in this position, grateful that we get to do this. We chose to be in the semis and to compete and this is part of the deal.”
What makes things tougher is that Mr. Reyes’ gang led by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Calvin Oftana and RR Pogoy has to embark on this mission without veteran guard Jayson Castro, who was Finals MVP when they retained the Governors Cup crown last November.
“It’s definitely not over, there’s still Friday (Game 5),” said a defiant ROS’ Yeng Guiao.
If TNT is engaged in a tight battle with ROS, it’s mostly Ginebra in their series with NorthPort. The Gin Kings took the first three matches by an average of 20 markers and just faded in the stretch of Game 4 against the determined Batang Pier.
“They came out and fought from the very beginning of the game all the way through,” said Ginebra’s Tim Cone.
“We just had a hard time. It was like pulling teeth trying to get guys to really lock into the game and lock into what we’ve been doing. It’s kind of a natural reaction being up 3-0. Even though we know it can happen that way, it’s not acceptable to us. We should have been better. We’ll see what we can do on Friday.” — Olmin Leyba
