Cone thrilled by SMB matchup

Games today:

(Smart Araneta Coliseum)

5:15 p.m. --- Rain or Shine

vs Converge

7:30 p.m. --- Ginebra

vs San Miguel Beer

Sister teams Barangay Ginebra and San Miguel Beer tangle in a blockbuster Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors’ Cup best-of-five quarterfinals series showdown today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Seeding and rankings after the group stage bear little weight, as both teams are now on equal footing when they begin their drive for a Final Four seat in the 7:30 p.m. main game.

The Beermen took the second-seeding in Group A despite finishing with a 9-3 win-loss record tied with No. 1-ranked NLEX, which they beat in fiery fashion after erasing a 20-point deficit for a 135-133 decision to end the pool play.

“I told them to develop the killer’s instinct. It created a sense of urgency for the team coming into the playoffs,” San Miguel head coach Leo Austria said.

Behind import George King playing in synch with locals June Mar Fajardo, who recently achieved another career milestone by joining the elite 10,000 points club, CJ Perez and Don Trollano, the Beermen have won five of their last six games.

On the other hand, the Kings were the last to qualify in the Last 8 after winning three of their last four games, including a 101-96 victor over Blackwater to secure their ride to the next round.

However, Ginebra coach Tim Cone knows his team is in for a grind.

“It’s our consuelo de bobo. You went to the playoffs and your reward is that you have to play San Miguel. You don’t get to choose who you play,” he quipped.

“(But) it’s a best-of-five series and that equals all that out. Should be a really good battle,” he added.

Import Jordan Murphy has been doing a great job in lifting the Kings and playing good music together with Scottie Thompson, Troy Rosario, RJ Abarrientos and Japeth Aguilar.

In the curtain-raiser at 5:15 p.m., Rain or Shine meets Converge in what is expected to be a tight war between two independent franchises.

Elasto Painters mentor Yeng Guiao is particularly wary of FiberXers import Camerom Clark.

“He’s the import Converge needed. He has an inside presence, with medium range, can rebound and at the same time run the floor. So he’s a great piece as an import for Converge. They hit a jackpot with him,” Guiao said of the 35-year-old Converge reinforcement.

Clark is indeed a great find as he complements well with locals Juan Gomez de Liaño, Alec Stockton, Mikey Williams and the twin towers Justine Baltazar and Justin Arana.