Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is bracing for another daunting task against Meralco when they meet for the fourth time in the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals which starts on Wednesday, April 6 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Coach Tim Cone thinks that they will be hard-pressed to play a Bolts side eager to finally get that elusive win after falling short in their three previous meetings for the PBA’s ultimate prize.
“We do know that Meralco’s gonna be greatly motivated, they always are,” Cone said during a press conference held yesterday at Novotel Manila located adjacent to the Big Dome where the series will kick off.
“They’re incredibly coached and they seem to always evolve and get better and I think that’s what you’re looking for from a coach’s standpoint, to keep evolving and keep getting better. And obviously, they’ve done that. And I think we’ve done that as well.
Ginebra began its mastery of Meralco in the 2016 edition of the reinforced tournament which ended on Justin Brownlee’s title-clinching three at the buzzer before needing a seventh game to prevail in 2017 before 54,000 fans at the Philippine Arena.
Their last finals duel in 2019 was a short one, with Ginebra needing just five games to finish off Meralco.
But Cone sees a different battle as Meralco will again try to pull one over Ginebra with a different roster compared to the previous one, with Tony Bishop as import and the likes of Chris Banchero and Aaron Black taking part in the one-sided rivalry.
“I think each series has elevated, it gets harder and tougher and more exciting so this is what we’re looking forward. The past doesn’t mean anything, it’s all about right now and we’re looking forward to it,” Cone concluded.
Bolts coach Norman Black is hoping that his team can atone for the Gin Kings’ short work of the 2019 series and put themselves in a strong position to finally get over the hump.
He still has the players from past Ginebra clashes like Chris Newsome, Cliff Hodge, Allein Maliksi and Raymond Almazan who will be tasked to take on the Ginebra core of Brownlee, Scottie Thompson, Christian Standhardinger and LA Tenorio.
“I’m not sure how long the series will go,” Black said. “I’m hoping that it’s competitive, especially from our end. Our goal is to win the championship and it doesn’t matter how many games.
“But more importantly for me, we just have to stay healthy, that’s gonna be very, very important,” he added.
The Bolts hope to have Chris Banchero ready for the title series after dealing with a rash of injuries while the Gin Kings still have no timetable as to when Japeth Aguilar will return after hurting his calf against the NLEX Road Warriors in the semis.