There will be no rest for the weary as Barangay Ginebra takes the hardwood for the third time in five days when it figures in a blockbuster collision against guest team Eastern in the PBA Commissioners’ Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Sunday, Dec. 15.
No rest for the weary as Ginebra takes on guest team Eastern
Dec 14, 2024 07:47 AM
At a glance
There will be no rest for the weary as Barangay Ginebra takes the hardwood for the third time in five days when it figures in a blockbuster collision against guest team Eastern in the PBA Commissioners’ Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Sunday, Dec. 15.
The Kings gun for their third win after a 2-0 start in the conference and they will have to do it against some familiar faces at the opposing side in the 7:30 p.m. affair.
The Kings gun for their third win after a 2-0 start in the conference and they will have to do it against some familiar faces at the opposing side in the 7:30 p.m. affair.
Eastern players Hayden Blankley, Kobey Lam and Glen Yang get their shots against Ginebra – the very same team that denied them a PBA title when they first played in the league as part of the Bay Area Dragons.
Raising the curtain is the clash between Blackwater and San Miguel, two teams looking to string their first win streaks of the season in the 5 p.m. affair after breaking out of their respective slumps.
Facing up against a potent offensive crew in the Hong Kong-based team, Ginebra head coach Tim Cone is preaching that his wards should rely more on their defense, exactly just like what they did against Phoenix which the Kings limited to just seven points in the final frame.
In a hectic schedule that they have, Cone said he expects the team’s offense to get cold at some point and their defense would only be the only thing they could rely on to win.
"Our philosophy is a defensive team first. We will tolerate offensive mistakes but defense is more effort and knowledge. Our expectations are always higher for us defensively than we are offensively," said Cone.
"We feel that we are going to make shots on some nights and some nights, we are not going to make shots. But the effort and the focus that we put on defense, we can control every night,” stressed the veteran mentor.
Justin Brownlee will be at the forefront of the attack for Ginebra alongside Scottie Thompson, Stephen Holt, Japeth Aguilar and new addition Troy Rosario.
Eastern, on the other hand, might not be as deep and talented as the Dragons, but remains formidable with Chris McLaughlin expected to lead the attack