Games today:
(Ynares Center-Antipolo)
5:15 p.m. --- Rain or Shine vs Ginebra
7:30 p.m. --- TNT vs Meralco
A rematch of last year’s finale between defending champion TNT and Barangay Ginebra is in the offing.
But first things first, both teams must finish off their respective opponents in Game 6 of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup semifinals Sunday at the Ynares Center-Antipolo.
The Kings get to try their luck first in the curtain-raiser showdown against Rain or Shine while the Tropang 5G look to send Meralco packing at 7:30 p.m.
Ginebra was first to climb the hill after a convincing 111-104 victory in Game 5 that broke a 2-2 tie last Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Kings head coach Tim Cone, however, is not taking a 3-2 best-of-seven series lead as an assurance, given the painful history of Ginebra squandering chances to close out a series.
“We’re not going to be happy with this win. We’ve been in this situation before. We led 3-2 and then got beat. Once by San Miguel, once by TNT,” said the 25-time champion coach.
The Kings last threw away the same series advantage back in the Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup when they allowed the Rondae Hollis-Jefferson bannered Tropang 5G to win the last two games of the title showdown that went the full distance.
“It’s too easy to get euphoric with the 3-2 lead. We’re not. A lot of things went our way tonight (Wednesday), which is great, we’re fortunate, but we have to move on,” Cone added.
Resident import Justine Brownlee remains the focal point of the Kings’ offense with RJ Abarrientos, who dropped 31 points in Game 5, Troy Rosario, Scottie Thompson and Stephen Holt as support crew.
Ginebra is looking to return to the championship round after missing the finals in the last two tournaments.
The Elasto Painters, on the other hand, are desperate to extend the series to Game 7 on Wednesday. Rain or Shine has yet to reach the finals since winning it all in the same conference in 2016.
Meanwhile, TNT wants to reach the championship for a fifth straight tournament.
Behind the 42-point explosion of import Chris McCullough, the Tropang 5G downed Meralco 103-95 last Friday to regain the series lead.
The reinforcement, who made his PBA return after helping San Miguel Beer win the crown in 2019 as a replacement for injured 7-foot-3 Bol Bol, knows the Bolts will come out more aggressive to force a decider but he’d rather worry about his team rather than the other side.
“I mean I’m not sure, I’m not even worried about what they’ve got going on, just focus on what we’ve got to do,” he said.
“We go to practice and again work on things we need to work on and just come out aggressive already.”
Meralco will need to keep 7-foot import Patrick Gardner in the game for a chance to pull off an equalizer.
Gardner, who replaced Marvin Jones, fouled out in his debut in Game 3 and was again in foul trouble in Game 4 that kept him on the bench as McCullough ignited the decisive closing run.
