4 teams plotting redemption
JAMAAL Franklin is tipped to go all out as Converge battles TNT Tropang 5G in his return to action in the PBA Season 50- Governors’ Cup on Tuesday.
Photograph courtesy of PBA
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JAMAAL Franklin is tipped to go all out as Converge battles TNT Tropang 5G in his return to action in the PBA Season 50- Governors’ Cup on Tuesday.
Photograph courtesy of PBA
Games today:
(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)
5:15 p.m. — Phoenix vs Blackwater
7:30 p.m. — TNT vs Converge
Redemption will be the main objective as four teams licking the wounds of their previous defeats see action in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors’ Cup tonight at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Phoenix wants a return to its winning ways after seeing its three-game romp halted when it takes on a Blackwater side seeking a stop in its back-to-back slide in the curtain-raiser at 5:15 p.m.
Squaring off in the 7:30 p.m. main game are defending champion TNT and Converge, which has brought in Jamaal Franklin as replacement import for struggling Jalen Hudson.
The Fuel Masters saw their winning streak cut short by Rain or Shine, 98-105, last week but remain on top of Group B.
Seeing how Phoenix pulled off victories over perennial contenders Magnolia, Meralco and Barangay Ginebra, Bossing head coach Pat Aquino is well aware of how dangerous the Fuel Masters are, especially with their bid to end the first of the double-round robin group stage on a winning note.
“They’ll be tough, so we’ve got to be tougher, be more aggressive,” he said.
“Coach Charles (Tiu) has been doing so well with Phoenix. He has earned the trust of his players. They’re buying into his system. So, we need to approach that game very aggressively. I think that’s what Rain or Shine did, being aggressive both on offense and defense,” Aquino added.
But winning over Phoenix will be a challenge as Blackwater will need to rediscover the fire that got the team going in the first two outings before losing that spark in defeats at the hands of Meralco and Ginebra, which was an 85-115 drubbing last Friday.
“We need to bring back the things we did right in our first two games. We know this is still a young team but I think we’ve realized it’s really hard to win in the PBA and we really have to work harder, work together,” Aquino added.
Meanwhile, the FiberXers try to climb to the solo second spot and part ways with San Miguel Beer, which blemished their perfect record last week.
Converge was feeling good in its Group A run only to hit a brick wall in a 122-128 loss to the Beermen.
NLEX remains the only unbeaten squad in the group with four straight wins.
The FiberXers gave Hudson, who averaged 9.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists throughout four outings, the pink slip and brought back Franklin, who carried Converge to the quarterfinals of the 2023 Governors’ Cup.
Franklin is expected to complement the frontline tandem of Justin Arana, who norms 28 points and eight rebounds, and Justine Baltazar, as well as the high-scoring backcourt stars Juan Gomez de Liano, Mikee Williams and Alec Stockton.
Advantage in personnel will be on the Delta Pineda-coached FiberXers’ side as they will be facing a Tropang 5G camp severely bitten by the injury bug.
With a depleted lineup missing Calvin Oftana, Jayson Castro, Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and Kelly Williams, TNT has stumbled to a 1-2 slate.
After barely escaping Macau, 106-103, the Tropang 5G dropped back-to-back games to NLEX, 87-103, and Terrafirma, 106-111.
Out of the top four, limping TNT is playing a desperate chase for wins to avoid an early vacation.
