Barangay Ginebra San Miguel finally gets to play in front of die-hard supporters as it shoots for a second win against struggling NorthPort Friday, Dec. 17 in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Gin Kings take on the Batang Pier at 6 p.m. hoping to get a big boost from their fans who will be on hand for the first time since winning the last edition of the import-flavored tournament in 2019.
Philippine Cup champion TNT, which dropped its opening assignment to NLEX, tries to bounce back against Alaska in the 3 p.m. opener.
Ginebra started its quest to defend the crown with a hard-fought 80-77 win over Alaska last Sunday, with import Justin Brownlee leading the way.
Brownlee is expected to play a big role for the Gin Kings, who will be up against a Batang Pier side that could have won almost all of their games if not for miscues in the final seconds.
Stanley Pringle, LA Tenorio, Japeth Aguilar, Christian Standhardinger and Scottie Thompson will look to step up as well.
NorthPort is at 0-3 despite strong performances from Robert Bolick and new acquisition Arwind Santos.
In the first game, TNT hopes to shake off the disappointment of its 102-100 defeat to NLEX two nights ago.
TNT came close to eking out a win, but couldn’t capitalize on NLEX’s miscues in the dying moments.
Import McKenzie Moore, Mikey Williams, Jayson Castro and Kelly Williams are out to atone for that setback opposite Alaska, which blew a chance to start the conference 3-0 following the loss to Ginebra.
The Aces will lean on import Olu Ashaolu, Robbie Herndon and Jeron Teng.
A subplot in this match is Gab Banal of TNT facing his former club for the first time. Banal opted to sign with the Tropang Giga after rejecting the Aces’ offer of a shorter contract.