‘Manila Clasico’ on Easter Sunday

MANILA, Philippines — Ginebra aims for “resurrection” as it crosses swords with fierce rival Magnolia in today’s Easter Sunday “Manila Clasico” highlighting the PBA Philippine Cup’s resumption of play.

A dud in their last gig before the league took a two-week break for the All-Star weekend in Bacolod and the Holy Week, the Gin Kings intend to wash away the bitter taste from their 73-91 beatdown at the hands of Meralco with a bounce back against the Hotshots in the 6:15 p.m. duel.

“There’s no doubt that we have something to prove after our blow-out loss to Meralco. We expect to play better on Sunday,” Ginebra coach Tim Cone told The STAR.

Coming out of the All-Stars hiatus and holidays, the Gin Kings (2-1) brace for an extra challenging entanglement with the Hotshots (1-0) at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“Always tough playing after an extended break, especially against a strong team like Magnolia. Plus the fact that Scottie (Thompson) is not yet ready to go,” Cone said, referring to their ace playmaker, who is still sidelined by a back injury.

The Hotshots, who opened their campaign with a 106-75 crushing of winless Converge, are bent on redemption after falling short of their target in the preceding Commissioner’s Cup.

“We want to give ourselves a chance again. We want to go to the finals and win the championship. That’s our goal,” said Magnolia mentor Chito Victolero, whose team took top seeding in the previous conference but bowed to San Miguel Beer in six games in the finale.

Serving as an explosive appetizer for the “Easter Clasico” is the showdown between pacesetting SMB (2-0) and Phoenix (1-3) at 3 p.m.

The Beermen launched their bid for back-to-back All Filipino crowns and a sweep of two-conference Season 48 with victories over Rain or Shine, 109-97, and TNT, 91-89.