Gin Kings revving up for big win

MANILA, Philippines — Going through a rough ride minus Greg Slaughter and Joe Devance, Barangay Ginebra hopes to finally put a better game together as it tangles with Phoenix Petroleum in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.

Rain or Shine and NLEX also look forward to playing smoother and steadier as they slug it out in the day’s other game.

The Elasto Painters and the Road Warriors battle at 4:30 p.m. then the Gin Kings and the Fuel Masters fight it out at 7 p.m. in a pair of matches among teams looking to check slump.

Rain or Shine and NLEX will be without Raymond Almazan and Michael Miranda, respectively, who will serve suspension incurred for their misconducts in their last outing.

Ginebra coach Tim Cone said they should learn from their mistakes in their 83-97 loss to Alaska Milk the last time out.

“We didn’t handle Alaska’s pressure well so obviously we’ll have to do a much better job against the same kind of pressure that (Phoenix Petroleum) coach Louie (Alas) applies,” said Cone.

The Kings seek to end a two-game skid to regain a spot in the top four in the tourney now paced by reigning three-time champ San Miguel Beer (5-0) followed by Magnolia (4-1) then joint third placers Alaska (3-2) and TNT KaTropa (3-2).

Ginebra is currently at solo fifth at 2-2 followed by a six-team bunch including Phoenix, Rain or Shine and NLEX at 2-3.

The Kings were actually off to a solid start in the tourney before being stymied by an injury to behemoth Greg Slaughter.

“We’ve been hit hard by the injury bug so far this conference, but the other teams are not going to give us a break because of that, of course,” said Cone. “We just have to keep fighting through it and keep looking for that next man up.”

The Fuel Masters have also dropped their last two games but their coach sees a silver lining in their last outing.

“I was frustrated with our endgame the last time but I saw positive things defensively compared to our first four games,” said Alas.