BARANGAY Ginebra San Miguel hopes the Holy Week break has given them the energy they need in the critical stretch of the Kings’ elimination-round campaign in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup.
The Kings battle defending champion Tropang TNT in the main game at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. Phoenix (2-5) and Blackwater (3-6) square off at 4:15 p.m., with both teams trying to stay alive for the next round.
Ginebra is currently tied with Alaska at third spot with a 5-3 win-loss record behind San Miguel Beer (5-2) and league-leading Meralco (6-2).
With a twice-to-beat incentive in store for the top 2 teams after the elimination round, the Kings will still face two squads ahead of them in what could be a dramatic finish for the bonus.
‘It’s a homestretch, so obviously every game is crucial at this point,” Ginebra Head Coach Tim Cone said.
“We play a couple of elite teams, which makes our road a little tougher, but we’ll have the opportunity to learn about ourselves and prepare for the playoffs,” he added.
After the Tropang Texters, Ginebra still has the Beermen on April 3 and the Bolts on April 13 to take care of.
The Kings are coming off a 102-101 escape in Panabo City over the Fuel Masters, where they crawled back from a 17-point deficit and banked on the late-game heroics of LA Tenorio.
Cone was happy to bring home the victory but blasted his players for their lack of discipline to make it to the next level.
And they need to bring that kind of attitude against an organized Tropang TNT, which is currently in a four-way logjam with Rain or Shine, NLEX and Mahindra in the middle of the team standings with a 4-4 card.
Jayson Castro returned from injury and towed the Tropang Texters to a much-needed 114-103 win over the Elasto Painters to stay in the race for the top 8 spots.
“At least we’re still there. Hopefully we can keep the energy the way we are playing,” said Tropang TNT coach Jong Uichico, who drew 26 markers from Castro and 26 points and 14 rebounds from import David Simon.
After the 11-game elimination round, the top two teams will earn a twice-to-beat advantage against teams No. 7 and 8 while the third to sixth squads will fight it out in a best-of-three quarterfinal series.