Ginebra-Meralco III too close to call

MANILA, Philippines — Talking about starting the year with a bang, and here’s what the Philippine Basketball Association has to offer a compelling third title duel between the Barangay Ginebra Kings and the Meralco Bolts.

One side is out reclaim the crown while the other is looking for breakthrough ascension to the top.

And featuring matchups of legendary coaches, super imports and solid local support, the third episode of the Ginebra-Meralco trilogy surely has all the trimmings of a classic in the making, just like their previous battles.

Game One of the 2019-20 PBA Governors Cup best-of-seven finals is Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Bannered by coach Tim Cone and resident reinforcement Justine Brownlee, the Gin Kings reigned supreme in 2016 and 2017, making this third offering a grand stage to keep mastery of the Bolts or let coach Norman Black and the Bolts to finally net an elusive first PBA crown for the franchise.

Watchers believe that history will not be the basis in this third match-up, disregarding Ginebra’s 2-0 head-to-head finals upper hand especially with Meralco parading a souped-up cast.

The consensus is it’s anybody’s game or a toss-up.

 “I don’t think the past series will be a factor,” Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia told The STAR, referring to Ginebra’s six-game and seven-game series wins in their first two championship duels.

Since their last finals meeting in 2017, the Gin Kings barely tweaked their squad for chemistry purposes with Stanley Pringle being the only key addition compared to the Bolts who practically moved heaven and earth to shake up their roster to improve their chances at contending for a crown.

And the Bolts are back in the finale, once again taking a shot at the crown with a mix made tougher by the addition of center Raymond Almazan and gunner Allein Maliksi.

The ROS coach and San Miguel Beer mentor Leo Austria agree Almazan can make major difference.

“Meralco has been a different team with the addition of Almazan (and Maliksi). I think it’s gonna be close,” said Garcia.

“This will be an exciting 50/50 match. Meralco has improved a lot with the addition of Almazan and Maliksi. Those new guys will definitely play a factor,” said Austria.

TNT coach Bong Ravena pointed to the added ceiling, length and perimeter offense the Bolts have got on the arrival of Almazan and Maliksi.

Then there’s Meralco’s hunger.

“Meralco is surely hungry for it has never won against Ginebra but both teams are equally matched so I think it’s going to be a long finals series,” said Ravena whose KaTropa team became a victim of the Bolts in their thrilling five-game semis series.

While most coaches are slightly bent on giving the hulking Durham the advantage over Brownlee, Austria believes Ginebra has an X factor on its side in Joe Devance.

“With the way Durham played against TNT, Ginebra may be in for a tough outing. Durham probably had his best series performance as PBA import and he’s hungry. So it would boil down on how healthy and ready Devance is,” said Austria.

“Devance has been Ginebra’s defensive anchor in their first two finals wins especially against Durham at the post. But if he can’t play (100 percent) in this series, it would be difficult for them.”

At 37-year-old, the nine-time PBA champion has been in and out in the past year due to injuries. He’s healthy entering the finals but still finding perfect form, according to Cone.