It's time.
Barangay Ginebra and TNT Tropang Giga clash for all the marbles as the championship of the 2020 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup finally commences.
The Gin Kings and Tropang Giga start their best-of-seven title showdown at 6 p.m., Sunday, November 29, 2020 at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena & Cultural Center Powered by Smart 5G.
Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said the Gin Kings face an uphill climb against the Tropang Giga.
“They (TNT) were the favorite team coming into the PBA bubble. I think they showed that from the very beginning. I think we (Gin Kings) will be the slight underdogs going into the playoffs eventhough we were the Number 1 seed (after the elimination round),” said Cone.
The Gin Kings scrambled past the Meralco Bolts, 83-80, last Wednesday to advance. The Tropang Giga waylaid Phoenix, 91-81, to likewise earn their berth in the Finals.
Cone said the man to watch in the series will be TNT's Jayson Castro.
“They’re playing big basketball. They’re well-coached and they’ve got Jayson (Castro). Jayson’s a difference-maker. We had a really hard time containing Chris Newsome (in the semifinals). As good as Chris was, Jayson takes it to another level. We have to figure out a way to control him,” said Cone.
The Gin Kings will be looking to repeat their 85-79 victory over TNT last November 6.
Ginebra’s Stanley Pringle finished with a double-double of 28 points and 12 rebounds to power the Gin Kings past TNT.
Other than Pringle the Gin Kings will also rely on Scottie Thompson, whose clutch triple in the dying seconds of their Game 5 showdown powered the Gin Kings past the Bolts.
Giving them plenty of support will be veterans LA Tenorio, Japeth Aguilar, Jared Dillinger and Joe Devance.
Other than Castro a bigger problem for the Gin Kings will be trying to contain TNT’s Ray Parks.
Parks is the league’s statistical leader this season with 38.3 statistical points. He had an average of 22.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
As good as he was during the elimination round, Parks improved those numbers across the board in the five-game semifinal series where TNT beat the Super LPG.
Parks averaged of 27.8 points (which included a high of 41 points), 8.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game against Phoenix in the PBA semifinals.
