Coming from a successful hosing of the recently concluded South East Asian Games and the celebration of the holiday season, basketball junkies will be in for a classic treat with the start of the PBA Governors Cup Finals.
Barangay Ginebra’s Tim Cone and Meralco’s Norman Black are predicting their duel will last the full monty.
“Obviously, if we could finish it early, we’d like that. But our feelings are it’s going to go down to a Game 7, that’s generally the case when you have two really good teams.” said Barangay Ginebra’s head tactician Tim Cone.
This will be the third time Ginebra and Meralco will be disputing the Governor’s Cup title. The Kings won last 2016 with a dramatic buzzer-beating three-pointer from Justin Brownlee in Game 6, which snapped a long drought for Ginebra.
The 2016 may have seem a motivation for the Meralco Bolts especially its import Allen Durham became “instrumental” in that historic shot of Brownlee with AD acting as the target. But it will be a different story this time with additional key cogs that can support their super import Allen Durham.
“We are much more equipped this time out,” Black said after adding Raymond Almazan, a true center, and Allein Maliksi, a decorated sniper, to his roster that didn’t have a legitimate big man other than Allen Durham and a reliable outside shooter in the caliber of Maliksi in those two losses.
“We feel like we’re in good shape. We tried to pace our players throughout the entire conference to make sure they would stay fresh,” Black said. “We went to the limit in the semifinals [against TNT]. We’ll be ready just in case it does go to a Game 7.”
On the other hand, Ginebra has also bolstered their weaponry with the addition of Stanley Pringle. The Philippine’s answer to James Harden. Not just with his beard, but even his game. Pringle can score at will and provides a huge mismatch to his position.
Meralco coach Norman Black believes that this time around, the Bolts have what it takes to reverse the result and win a championship for the franchise.
Allen Durham continues to be a pillar of strength for Meralco. The two-time Best Import averages 30.9 points, 15.2 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game for the Bolts this conference, and Black regularly praises him for being their “rock.”
Cone, who is eying for his 22nd PBA title also said the holiday break will also contribute to the beauty of the championship series although he also expects rust to also come into play early on.
“I think the more you spread out the games, the better the quality of the games are. That’s why I expect this series to be really high quality because teams are going to be fresh, and they are going to be rested,” said Cone.
Expect an action-packed PBA Governor’s Cup Championship between Barangay Ginebra and Meralco Bolts, game 1, happening tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, 7:00pm.
With additional reports: inquirer.net: Denison Dalupang, spin.ph, Reuben Terrado
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