Kings aim to stop Newsome, Hodge

Barangay Ginebra will be putting extra attention on Meralco stars Chris Newsome and Cliff Hodge as it tries to close out the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup semifinals series.

Slowing down if not stopping the pair will be a prime objective of the Gin Kings in Game 6 of the best-of-seven series today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“It’ll be tough, I always say Newsome and Cliff, those guys are really winners,” Ginebra main offensive weapon Christian Standhardinger said.

“Everyone in their team is following them and we need to just come out there and try to match their intensity as good as possible.”

The Kings are just a win away from forging a best-of-seven finals showdown against defending champion San Miguel Beer after taking a 3-2 series lead over the Bolts.

But to set up a fourth all-Filipino conference title showdown with its sister-team, Ginebra would have to finish off Meralco first.

Newsome has been putting up consistent numbers for the Bolts, averaging 16.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game while providing energy to pump up his team inside the court.

On the other hand, Hodge has put up norms of 10.4 points, 6.2 boards and 2.4 dishes per outing. The hardworking forward is also the Bolts’ best defensive guy to match Standhardinger and the other big men of Ginebra.

The two are not just the focal point of the Bolts’ offense but they can also make their teammates play better.

“That’s the strength of Cliff and Newsome. If you try to stop them, they will make the right play. They will make the right pass,” Standhardinger said.

Unfortunately, Meralco has yet to win a best-of-seven series after going down, 2-3.

Three of its last four race-to-four series losses came at the hands of the Gin Kings.