Ginebra aims for quarters berth vs Blackwater in Pampanga

Foiled by Rain or Shine the last time, Barangay Ginebra takes a second shot at an outright quarterfinal berth as it tangles with back-to-the-wall Blackwater in the Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup at AUF Gym in Angeles, Pampanga Saturday.    

The Gin Kings try to move ahead of the Barako Bull Energy and the NLEX Road Warriors as they square off with the Elite in this lone Petron Blaze Saturday Special set at 5 p.m.    

“This is a key game for us as we try to gather some momentum, plus it’s a chance for us to climb over .500 again,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.    

Heading to the match, Ginebra is tied with Barako and NLEX at sixth place with their identical 4-4 win-loss slate.    

The Gin Kings have the Elite, the Road Warriors and the TNT Tropang Texters as final assignments in the single round elimination phase.    

They would surely love to sweep these matches for a shot at the Top Six with a reward of a twice-to-beat advantage in the first phase of the quarterfinals.    

Blackwater, on the other hand, is in a tight spot at 1-6, needing a strong finish in the elims to salvage a seat in the 10-team playoff phase.    

Their last four matches pit them with the Gin Kings, the Barako Bull Energy, the Star Hotshots and the Mahindra Enforcers.    

“No ifs and buts, we have to start winning,” said Blackwater coach Leo Isaac.   

 Their lone win came at the expense of Meralco, 92-90, back in Nov. 4.    

After that, the Elite suffered blowouts against San Miguel (83-93), Rain or Shine (81-103), TNT (98-109) and Globalport (105-120).    

A positive thought for the Elite was their 83-77 upset of the Gin Kings in their match in the last Governors Cup.

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