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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Ginebra tries to go for semis sweep vs NorthPort

Ginebra tries to go for semis sweep vs NorthPort

Published Mar 4, 2025 06:07 am

At A Glance

  • Barangay Ginebra is looking to deal the finishing blow against NorthPort in Game 4 of their PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup semifinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, March 5.

Barangay Ginebra is looking to deal the finishing blow against NorthPort in Game 4 of their PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup semifinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, March 5.

PBA Images3 - 2025-03-04T135733.454.jpg

The Kings, after three lopsided victories in as many games in the series, are widely expected to go for a sweep especially if the Batang Pier continue with their lackluster play in the 5 p.m. affair.

Following suit is the much tighter battle between TNT and Rain or Shine at 7:30 p.m. with the Elasto Painters looking for the series equalizer after finally breaking through the last time out to cut the deficit to 1-2.

Even after the blowout wins, though, Ginebra head coach Tim Cone is wary of getting complacent and wants his wards to quickly move on from the victories and stay disciplined.

“It can be hard to move on from wins, because you kind of want to live in those wins, but you gotta move on from them and it's a cliche, I know it, but you just gotta keep taking each game at a time,” said Cone at the end of the team’s 127-100 Game 3 win.

“You do that through staying disciplined mentally and really just focusing on the process of what makes you successful and not looking to the end result. So, these guys have done a tremendous job so far of doing that, but again, the series is not over,” he added.

Ginebra, of course, is certainly not lacking in personnel to complete the sweep. For one, the return to form of Jeremiah Gray and Jamie Malonzo gave Cone the luxury to rest some of his key players in Scottie Thompson, Justin Brownlee and Japeth Aguilar.

For NorthPort, now is the perfect time to showcase the play that earned it the top seed in the eliminations.

But in order to do that, Arvin Tolentino, Joshua Munzon along with guys like William Navarro, Fran Yu and Evan Nelle must rediscover their touches to support import Kadeem Jack.

Meanwhile, the ball is now on TNT’s court as it tries to find a way to make up for the absence of veteran guard Jayson Castro. 

A huge reason behind TNT’s narrow wins in the first two games, the presence of a stabilizing guard like Castro was sorely missed in Game 3.

It was a window of opportunity that the Elasto Painters, led by Adrian Nocum and import Deon Thompson, made sure to take advantage of after completing a 103-98 win.

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