GOING into Saturday’s crucial match at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and GlobalPort share a couple of ugly similarities as they fight for survival in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup.
One, both the Kings and Batang Pier are at the bottom half of the standings, with 4-5 win-loss records. And second, they want to end a two-game slide to get back on track for a quarterfinal seat, both teams needing to sweep their last two games to reach the top eight.
Ginebra and GlobalPort clash at 5 p.m. in the final road game of the elimination phase originally scheduled in Panabo City, Davao del Norte. Due to military operations in Mindanao, the league decided to transfer the venue.
With three playing dates left in the single-round eliminations, five teams have already advanced to the next phase, with the remaining three being contested by seven other squads.
And the Kings and the Batang Pier are in the middle of the tight race for the last three slots, because the winner would see light at the end of the tunnel and the loser finding itself weighed down with complications.
Right now, Ginebra and GlobalPort are tied with Alaska for sixth to eighth spots. The Kings have the Aces left in their final assignment on the last day of eliminations on Wednesday, while the Batang Pier have to deal with San Miguel Beer (3-7) on Tuesday.
Both squads are coming off a tough loss, with Ginebra dropping an 82-79 decision to Rain or Shine, and GlobalPort surrendering 91-84 to rampaging NLEX minus top rookie Stanley Pringle. Batang Pier Team Manager BJ Manalo said Pringle’s sprained ankle hasn’t healed.
Former National Basketball Association campaigner Derrick Caracter had a decent debut for GlobalPort with 27 points and 14 rebounds in 42 minutes on 12-of-16 shooting from the field. But the absence of Pringle was too much for the Batang Pier, as they failed to neutralize the Road Warriors’ running game.