Ginebra, TNT go for the jugular to arrange Finals rematch
At A Glance
- Barangay Ginebra and TNT look to arrange a rematch of the last season's Commissioner's Cup finals when they try to go for the jugular against their respective foes in the Game 6 of PBA Season 50 semifinals at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Sunday, May 31.
Barangay Ginebra and TNT look to arrange a rematch of the last season’s Commissioner’s Cup finals when they try to close out their respective semifinal series in Game 6 of the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Sunday, May 31.
Riding the crest of their momentum-swinging Game 5 victories, the Kings hope to finish off the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the curtain raiser at 5:15 p.m. while the Tropang 5G aim to do the same against the Bolts in the second game at 7:30 p.m.
Despite being just one win away from the finals, the veteran coaches of both teams know how hard it is to close out a series especially against battle-tested teams like Meralco and Rain or Shine.
“There’s one more game. Job’s not finished,” said TNT head coach Chot Reyes.
The Tropang 5G know the Bolts won’t simply roll over and hand over the series, especially after the latter’s 103-95 loss in Game 5 that is expected to fuel their bid to force a decider.
Good thing for TNT, the team is looking good with Chris McCullough in tow, especially after the comebacking import finally got his rhythm back and erupted for 17 of his 42 points in the final frame.
“He gets acclimatized with his teammates on what we want to do. But also just getting back to the stream of things here in the PBA you know this is a tough league. This is a tough league,” he added.
For the part of Ginebra, meanwhile, head coach Tim Cone stressed that the Kings cannot be complacent against Rain or Shine and they must continue to dig deep to finish them off.
“Tonight the ball moved. And not only the ball moved, people moved. And when people move, it makes it harder to deny passing lanes,” Cone said after the 101-94 win over ROS where Ginebra drilled 16 triples after only nailing five in Game 5.
“We were able to do that tonight. But I keep saying this. We've got to do it again.
We've been in this situation before. So it's something we hope we can overcome this time,” he added.