Games today:

(Philsports Arena)

5 p.m. — NorthPort vs Barangay Ginebra

7:30 p.m. — Rain or Shine vs TNT

Having drawn first blood, Barangay Ginebra and TNT Tropang Giga aim for tighter control of their respective series in Game 2 of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven semifinals today at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

The Kings will try to carry the momentum of their 23-point shellacking of top-seeded NorthPort in the opener when they meet again in the curtain-raiser at 5 p.m.

Showing no signs of fatigue despite its main men coming off a tour of duty for Gilas Pilipinas in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers third window on the road, Ginebra had a clinical whipping of the Batang Pier, 115-93, last Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Five Kings, led by resident import Justin Brownlee’s 19 points, finished in double figures. Ginebra scored at will in the second half, including a 32-14 third-quarter explosion that broke the game wide-open despite a tight opening half.

However, Kings head coach Tim Cone warns his team that blowing out its elimination round tormentor doesn’t mean they already have the series in the bag.

“(But) like I said it’s only one game. We’ll see how this thing evolves over seven games, Cone said.

The bright lights of the semis might have overwhelmed the inexperienced NorthPort but the 25-time PBA champion tactician knows the Batang Pier will be coming in hot to avoid falling into a deeper hole.

“We didn’t do anything here. We won big and we just had a really good shooting night. They had an off-night. Those things have the tendency to turn around,” said Cone, whose squad shot 54.2 percent from the field compared to the Batang Pier’s 42.4 percent and shared the ball well with 36 assists.

“We’ll just put this one away and focus on Game 2. It takes four games to win this series.”

Best Player of the Conference frontrunner Arvin Tolentino needs to recover his shooting touch after scoring only eight points on 2-of-11 clip from the field to help NorthPort recover lost ground.

Import Kadeem Jack and Joshua Munzon were the only Batang Pier in double figures in Game 1 with 33 and 10 points, respectively.

Meanwhile, Tropang Giga mentor Chot Reyes braces for a tougher fightback from Rain or Shine in their 7:30 p.m. rematch.

TNT banked on its defensive prowess to hold the Elasto Painters scoreless in the last two minutes of Game 1 for an 88-84 escape at the start of the two team’s third straight playoffs series duel.

“It’s going to be a grind-out the whole way through. We have no illusions that it would be easy by any means,” Reyes said.

“They’re a well-balanced, well-constructed, well-coached team, they’re very versatile and they have a very good import with them so we really have to be at our best.”

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson despite scoring 23 points had a poor shooting night but Jayson Castro and Gilas member Calvin Oftana picked up the slack with 24 and 22 markers, respectively.

However, TNT’s defense in the closing minutes played a big factor in the win.

The Tropang Giga forced the Elasto Painters to commit four straight turnovers in the final stretch including a crucial steal in the last three seconds to seal the win.

Rain or Shine mentor Yeng Guiao remains in high spirits despite the loss that saw his team pile up 22 turnovers.

“We’re disappointed but we feel we have a realistic chance of getting back in the series. We’re anticipating a long series. The more games you’ll win the better for us. That means it’s going to be extended,” he said.

“I feel that this series is very different from the past series we had against them,” added Guiao, whose squad got eliminated by TNT in the Governors’ Cup semis in five games on its way to a repeat title.