Smelling Blood: Ginebra ready to deliver knockout blow

Games today:

(Smart Araneta Coliseum)

5 p.m. — NorthPort vs Ginebra

7:30 p.m. — Rain or Shine vs TNT

Barangay Ginebra brings the broom in an attempt to complete a sweep of top-seeded NorthPort in Game 4 of their Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup semifinals showdown today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

After three meetings in the best-of-seven series, the Kings have yet to experience serious resistance from the overwhelmed Batang Pier as they averaged a whopping 20.6-point winning margin per game.

Ginebra will try to finish off NorthPort at 5 p.m. to secure a second straight finals appearance this season after a runner-up finish in the Governors’ Cup.

Meanwhile, Rain or Shine aims for the equalizer after stealing Game 3 against TNT in the main game at 7:30 p.m.

Just like in the first two games, the Kings used a strong second-quarter assault to set the tone for the 127-100 blowout in Game 3 last Sunday that gave them a commanding 3-0 series lead.

Despite the obvious domination, Kings head coach Tim Cone emphasizes discipline among his players as the job is still far from over.

“We’ve been talking a lot about discipline and process. Those are like the keywords for us right now in terms of getting ourselves ready for each game,” Cone said.

“This team has always been good about moving on. It could be hard to move on from wins because you want to kind of live in those wins but you got to move on.”

“It’s a cliché, I know it, but you got to take each game at a time. You do that by staying disciplined mentally and really just focusing on the process of what makes you successful and not looking at the end result.”

Ginebra came into the series with some doubting the team’s competitive form with most of its key players weary from a tour of duty with Gilas Pilipinas on the road compared to a well-rested and relatively young Batang Pier.

But it turned out that Gilas members in resident import Justin Brownlee, Jamie Malonzo, Japeth Aguilar, Troy Rosario and Scottie Thompson still have their tanks full leading Ginebra, which is averaging an impressive 36 assists per game.

Malonzo has been particularly consistent in the series and even spearheaded the Kings’ 27-point win the last time out with 25 points and eight rebounds in his first tournament since recovering from a calf injury last year.

On the other hand, NorthPort now sits on the edge of elimination in the franchise’s third semis appearance.

Import Kadeem Jack and Best Player of the Conference frontrunner Arvin Tolentino must rally their crew back into the series or risk throwing away what they’ve worked hard for since the eliminations.

Elasto Painters head coach Yeng Guiao, meanwhile, believes his team now has the momentum to turn the series around with the Tropang Giga walking wounded after the season-ending knee injury suffered by veteran leader Jayson Castro in Game 2.

Rain or Shine broke into the win column after a 103-98 escape in Game 3.

“We’ve already matched our performance against them (in the Governors’ Cup semis). We were 4-1 last time, now we’re 2-1 so at least we equaled our performance from last time. If we win another one that means we’ve improved. We’re happy about that,” Guiao said.

Reinforcement Deon Thompson, streaky scoring guard Adrian Nocum, Anton Asistio and Caelan Tiongson are expected to bring the same intensity to get past the Rondae Hollis-Jefferson-led TNT to level the series.

Without Castro, guards like RR Pogoy and Rey Nambatac must step up their game and act as stabilizers for the Tropang Giga in its bid to stay in the hunt for a second consecutive title after ruling the Governors’ Cup.