Barangay Ginebra shoots for a third straight win as it looks ahead to a clash with ailing Rain or Shine in the resumption of the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup.
Slowly but surely gaining steam, the Gin Kings (3-1), armed with a two-game winning streak, aim on continuing their climb even as the Elasto Painters (0-2) will look to break into the win column in their 7 p.m. collision at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.
In the appetizer, depleted Phoenix Pulse (1-1) do battle with inconsistent Meralco (2-2) at 4:30 p.m.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone admitted that the Gin Kings’ 73-70 triumph over erstwhile unbeaten NorthPort last Saturday wasn’t the nicest of wins.
Still, he likes the direction that the defending champions are taking early on in their title defense.
“We didn’t have one of our best games last time, but we still got the win. We’re still getting there,” said Cone. “We’re hoping to get better as we go.”
The Elasto Painters didn’t exactly have the best start over the weekend, dropping both their first two outings to Meralco and Blackwater, respectively.
Rain or Shine import Denzel Bowles will face Cone, his former mentor when he was the resident import of the Magnolia franchise years ago, for the first time.
As a result of all the scuffles in its 114-88 defeat at the hands of TNT KaTropa in controversial fashion, the Fuel Masters are left handicapped as they will face the Bolts sans two of their key components.
Calvin Abueva is suspended indefinitely after his successive misconducts against TNT’s Terrence Jones and Maika Rivera, a fan and girlfriend of Blackwater guard Bobby Ray Parks, over the weekend while head coach Louie Alas is set to miss two games as well due to his own suspension.
In a different commotion, Alas was suspended for getting physical with the KaTropa’s David Semerad in the same aforementioned game.
Meralco, a winner of its last game, is looking to capitalize as it hopes to finally get a winning streak.
