MANILA, Philippines — Reigning champion Barangay Ginebra shoots for the kill against San Miguel Beer while TNT Tropang Giga and Meralco break a deadlock in its own duel in the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum today.
Up big with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five Final Four series, the Gin Kings march into battle at 3 p.m. with a clear goal of finishing off their sibling rivals for a return trip to the finals followed by the Tropang Giga-Bolts setto at 5:45 p.m. that will shatter a 1-1 tie.
A win for the Gin Kings would pave the way for their second straight finals appearance, with a shot at a follow-up to their historic Commissioner’s Cup title run highlighted by their conquest of guest team Bay Area Dragons in front of a record 54,589 fans at the Philippine Arena.
Sweeping the powerhouse SMB, albeit without six-time MVP June Mar Fajardo, however, could be a steep mountain to scale for the Gin Kings.
“When you’re gonna play a good team like San Miguel, it’s nearly impossible to beat them three straight times. We’re gonna try to do the impossible,” said coach Tim Cone as the Beermen have yet to absorb a 3-0 sweep in 26 best-of-five battles in PBA history.
But the Gin Kings are poised to achieve the feat, after dominating their sister team with big wins in Game 1, 121-112, and Game 2, 121-103. But aside from SMB’s anticipated revenge, Ginebra is also wary of falling into complacency.
“It’s a short series so if you can get two, it’s really key but it’s really hard to do. You start looking for that sweep with this kind of lead and then you open yourself up to be ‘kampante.’ If you do that against a team like this then you’re in big trouble,” warned Cone.