Kings, Bolts clash in PBA Commissioner’s Cup opener

Games Tuesday

(Mall of Asia Arena)

4:15 p.m. – Kia vs Globalport

7 p.m. – Ginebra vs Meralco

MANILA, Philippines – Barangay Ginebra and Meralco, teams which narrowly missed the Philippine Cup semifinals and returning with topnotch imports, square off in the main game of the opening bill of the import-flavored PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City Tuesday night.

The Kings and the Bolts come back from a six-week break, tagging along highly touted reinforcements Michael Dunigan and Josh Davis, respectively, as they slug it out at 7 p.m.

Kia Motors, featuring the tallest import the PBA fans will see in two years, clashes with Globalport in the 4:15 p.m. opener of the tourney that Purefoods ruled for the third jewel in its “four-peat” run from 2013 to 2014.

For the success of the recent Philippine Cup, the PBA offers a special treat tonight by opening the MOA General Admission section for free to the fans.

A bigger treat should be the games to be dished out by the Kings, the Bolts, the Carnival (formerly Sorento) and the Batang Pier as PBA action resumes after the San Miguel Beermen conquered the Alaska Milk Aces in the riveting Philippine Cup Finals.

But much focus would be on the Gin Kings with Dunigan and the new style of game the team is playing in their return under the tutelage of coach Ato Agustin.

Gone is coach Jeff Cariaso and the Triangle Offense that the team tried to play without success in two conferences.

Dunigan is familiar to PBA fans and he’s familiar with Ginebra as the former Oregon U standout has had a previous tour of duty in the league with Air21 in 2013. He averaged 23.9 points, 15.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.4 blocks then.

He will be up with Meralco’s Josh Davis in his PBA comeback.

“Our import has practiced with the team four days and is starting to fit in with the locals,” said Meralco coach Norman Black.

“We will be undersized again this conference because Davis is only 6’7, but his energy level will have us in there fighting,” Black also said of their import who was the last cut in the San Antonio Spurs roster for the current NBA season.

Kia brings in legitimate NBA player Peter John Ramos in a bid to really be competitive after a woeful 1-10 win-loss showing in the all-Filipino tourney.

Ramos, at 7-foot-2 ¾, will be the tallest import to strut his stuffs in the PBA since Rain or Shine played the 7-foot-3 Bruno Sundov in the 2013 Commissioner’s Cup.

“He’s really huge, and you’ll see,” said Kia team manager Eric Pineda.

The Batang Pier hope they can match up with CJ Leslie.

Ginebra and Meralco finished tied with Purefoods at 6-5 during the Philippine Cup prelims. The Kings and the Bolts took the fifth and sixth playoff seedings upon the application of the quotient system of breaking ties.

Both team hurdled their assignments in the first stage of the quarterfinals but failed to make the semis as the Kings bowed to the Talk n Text Tropang Texters, 67-83, while the Bolts were beaten by the Alaska Aces, 69-87, in the second phase of the quarters.

The Batang Pier wound up eighth in the elims and didn’t improve in the playoffs.