Gin Kings ‘di uurungan ang Tropang Gigac

MANILA, Philippines — Bagama’t kulang ng dalawang key players ay pursigido pa rin ang nagdedepensang Barangay Ginebra na talunin ang TNT Tropang Giga sa kanilang quarterfinals duel sa 2021 PBA Philippine Cup sa Bacolor, Pampanga.

May sprained MCL si 6-foot-8 flying forward Japeth Aguilar habang inilagay si guard Scottie Thompson sa health and safety protocols ng liga.

“They’re playing extremely good basketball. They’ve hardly been touched. I think the only team that really gave them a run for their money was San Miguel,” sabi ni Gin Kings coach Tim Cone sa Tropang Giga na nagtala ng 10-1 record sa elimination round.

Bilang No. 1 team ay may bitbit na ‘twice-to-beat’ advantage ang TNT laban sa No. 8 Ginebra na sumibak sa Phoenix, 95-85, sa kanilang playoff game noong Sabado.

“But aside from that, they pretty dominated just about everybody. We know our road is tough, there is no doubt about it. But our guys will battle,” sabi ni Cone.

Nauna nang binigo ng Gin Kings ang Tropang Giga sa championship series ng 2020 PBA Philippine Cup sa Clark bubble.

Ngayong season ay kailangan pang lumaban ng Ginebra sa Phoenix sa playoff para lamang makapasok sa quarterfinals.

“This isn’t what we expected, we didn’t expect to be in this kind of game coming into this,” sabi ng two-time PBA Grand slam champion mentor. “But you know, you have a choice you either keep going or you back off and our guys decided to keep going.”

Pinatumba ng Tropang Giga ang Gin Kings, 88-67, sa una nilang pagtutuos tampok ang 27 points ni rookie Fil-Am Mikey Williams.