ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Ginebra eyes dynasty, TNT guns for destiny in dream Finals duel

Ginebra eyes dynasty, TNT guns for destiny in dream Finals duel

Published Apr 3, 2023 07:40 am
The line has been drawn and both teams have fired the early warning shots in what is expected to be a dream duel between two of the most talented squads in the league. *Barangay Ginebra and TNT are bracing for war in the 2023 PBA Governors' Cup Finals. (Mark Balmores)*

Defending champion Barangay Ginebra and its formidable challenger TNT are bracing for an all-out war when the best-of-seven 2023 PBA Governor’s Cup Finals presented by Arena Plus fires off on Easter Sunday, April 9, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. On one side, the Kings are eyeing the continuation of the dynasty they built in the Governors’ Cup while the Tropang Giga, on the other, take their shot at destiny as they try to win their very first title in the season-ending conference. Determined to pull the rug from under the obviously heavy favorites in the conference, TNT knew full well that it shouldn’t have any single drop of doubt if they want to beat the mighty Ginebra in the Finals – a feat that has been only done once in the last five editions of the Governors’ Cup. “Ginebra is the best team in the league but we are the best team in this conference. We were No. 1 so it’s not true that we think we are the underdogs. We are the hound dogs. We’ll see to it that we will match their energy,” said TNT governor Ricky Vargas during the PBA pre-finals press conference at the Novotel Manila in Cubao, Quezon City on Monday, April 3. History and relationship will also be put aside in the race-to-four affair as Ginebra head coach Tim Cone faces up against his former player and now interim TNT coach Jojo Lastimosa who is making his first finals appearance as a team mentor. Lastimosa, however, played down the looming mentor-mentee showdown as he hopes to savor his chance to have a battle against his former coach and the league’s winningest at that. “I’m always comfortable with Tim when we work together as a player and as a coach. It's just like coming home. I’m comfortable being around Tim, as you can see there is no animosity  between the two of us,” said Lastimosa. “I’m just excited to be on the same floor with him. Again so much respect because he has done so much for the game so I’m just here to learn,” he added. “Jojo and I have been together for years. I’m just really proud that he’s in the position that he is in now and proud of how successful he has been,” Cone said of his former player. "Meantime, it’s tough going head-to-head because he knows me like the back of his hand. He knows my approach . He knows the way he likes to adjust. He has seen that all through the years. It’s gonna be very hard for me to keep him unbalanced,” explained Cone. Also taking the spotlight in the marquee collision is the showdown between the two of the best imports in the conference with Justin Brownlee also seeking greatness and becoming the winningest import in the PBA and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson gunning for his very first professional title. Brownlee, undefeated in his six finals appearances, could cop his seventh title and surpass another Cone import Sean Chambers’ six PBA titles although he would have to do it against a Hollis-Jefferson who is proud and confident that he’s one of the best.

Related Tags

Coach Tim Cone Jojo Lastimosa TNT Tropang Giga Justin Brownlee Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.