The game is on Wednesday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
7:30 pm – Ginebra vs TNT
(Final 1)
HUNGER will be in abundance as defending champion TNT and Barangay Ginebra kick off the latest installment of their PBA finals rivalry in the Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup.
They may be making their fifth consecutive appearance in the tournament stage but TNT Tropang 5G is actually in a soft slump, losing their last two, Season 49 and Season 50 of the Philippine Cup to San Miguel.
The drought lasted a long time – seven conferences to be exact – for the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings, who surrendered to TNT in their last three trips to the Final Dance, including this very tournament last season, after their last victory in the Season 47 series.
Other key personnel from both sides carry more motivation as they continue to hunt for the first PBA championship starting with Game 1 at 7:30 pm Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“That’s why we play – to win games and win tournaments. This is my fifth conference with the team and third final appearance. So I hope we can get through this moment. We never want to take these moments lightly and hopefully we can get the job done this time,” said Ginebra’s Stephen Holt, who has been denied twice before by Tropang 5G.
“I think there’s a chance, yeah? We’ll see,” said TNT guard Jordan Heading, who has been to previous All-Filipino finals with TNT but found the door shut by the San Miguel Beermen each time.
Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser (BGR) was injured when the PLDT franchise won the first two conferences of Season 49. He was back in the fold for the next two and as Mr. Heading, determined for the runners-up. Now BGR wants to finish his unfinished business.
“I hope so. I’m very happy to go out and play high quality basketball. You don’t want to take these opportunities for granted, coming here five times. We play our game, we rely on each other, we did the things that got us here and hopefully this time we’ll come out on the winning side,” he said.
Although the core team and chief strategists Chot Reyes and Tim Cone are back, the fourth title between the old rivals in the last eight meetings includes a new division Chris McCullough against Justin Brownlee this time.
“It will be an interesting game. I have known Chris (McCullough) for a long time, he is a versatile player. It will definitely be a challenge for our team to catch him,” said Mr. Brownlee.
The arrival of Mr. McCullough to replace the injured Bol Bol makes TNT a more dangerous enemy, according to Mr. Cone.
“I think they’re more united now in terms of everybody contributing. I thought when Mr. Bol was there, they had a really hard time trying to keep everybody involved,” he said. “Now they are back to playing ‘Talk and Text’ style of basketball and I think that has made them better, stronger for the upcoming series.” – Olmin Leyba
