IT is on.
Longtime rivals and sister teams Barangay Ginebra and San Miguel Beer begin their best-of-seven championship showdown in the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.
Game 1 of the tournament’s finale is scheduled today at 7 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, with both finalists looking to gain an early advantage in the series.
Coaches of both teams agreed that this finale ahead is anything but a walk in the park for either protagonists.
“It’s going to be tough against San Miguel. That’s for sure. They have weapons all over,” described Ginebra coach Tim Cone of his team’s opponent. “The only good thing was that TNT took them to seven games as well, so at least they won’t have that advantage in terms of freshness.”
“We have to play at our best against Ginebra. We’re expecting a good series with two talented teams,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.
Both teams took similar hard paths to reach the finals as they were both taken to the limit by their respective foes in the semifinals and needed to win their series’ last two games and earn victories in Game 7s to get to this stage.
The Gin Kings outlasted Star, while the Beermen used their veteran savvy to outduel TNT KaTropa.
A question that is on everyone’s mind is—will it be a repeat or a revenge?
Just last conference in the Governors’ Cup, these two teams squared off in a five-game semis series wherein the Gin Kings came out on top to reach the finals and eventually ended their eight-year title-drought.
Now, there will be no imports to reinforce both squads as they would all have to rely on their All-FIlipino crew.