Barangay Ginebra punched a ticket to the semifinals following a gritty 94-87 win over Meralco in the quarterfinals of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup.

Now comes another challenge: Staying sharp against a dangerous NorthPort squad.

Kings coach Tim Cone admitted that staying on top of their game against the Batang Pier will not be easy, especially since they will not open their best-of-seven semifinal series until 26 February at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Prior to facing the Batang Pier, Cone and the key players of Ginebra like import Justin Brownlee, Japeth Aguilar, Jamie Malonzo, Troy Rosario and Scottie Thompson will join Gilas Pilipinas in a four-nation friendly tournament in Doha before plunging into action in the third leg of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in Taiwan and New Zealand.

Gilas will have a two-day camp at the Inspire Sports Camp in Laguna today before leaving for Doha on Thursday. Then, they will clash with Qatar and Lebanon on 15 February as well as Egypt on 17 February.

From Doha, they will leave for Taiwan for the final leg of the qualifiers.

Cone said despite their busy schedule, it will be business as usual for the Kings with his staff like assistant coaches Olsen Racela and Kirk Collier keeping the rest of the Kings busy in preparation for the Batang Pier.

“Our guys will try to stay sharp. These guys are playing a lot of meaningful games so I think that will help them in terms of coming back and play,” Cone said following their big win over Meralco late Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

“It’s just the energy level that we have to be concerned with. Would they still have the energy to come back at some point and be on top of their game?”

Cone knows that NorthPort will not be a pushover.

After finishing in the cellar in the past few conferences, the Batang Pier displayed an impressive performance as they topped the elimination round with a 9-3 win-loss record. Then, they edged powerhouse Magnolia, 113-110, to advance to the semifinals oozing with momentum.

“We haven’t been thinking so much about them because we’re so locked in with Meralco,” Cone said, knowing that NorthPort is capable of springing a surprise.

‘Our guys will try to stay sharp.’

“NorthPort beat us in the eliminations, they just beat everybody in the eliminations so we weren’t the only one. They’ve been playing really well.”

Brownlee agrees.

“They’ve beaten everybody going there. Arvin (Tolentino), he’s been playing great for NorthPort. Actually, I’m glad to see him play very well in NorthPort,” said Brownlee, who dropped 25 points against the Bolts.

“They’ve got a lot of guys over there who can score and do a lot of things. Also, their import; he’s playing at a high level. So, it’s gonna be tough. I think myself and everybody are ready for the challenge.”

With that, he is planning to reduce Bronwlee’s minutes in the friendlies to keep him fresh in the qualifiers and in what looms as a grueling semifinal series against the best team in the eliminations.

“It’s gonna be tough, especially since he’s (Brownlee) is going to Doha and will be playing all those games. Though we want to keep him sharp, we have to make sure that we don’t overuse him,” Cone said.