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SERVICES
THE INQUIRER COMPANY
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04
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26
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2024
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SERVICES
THE INQUIRER COMPANY
04
26
2024
Crowd darling Barangay Ginebra hopes to carry to the tournament proper a pretty solid showing in the preseason, going for a triumphant PBA Governors Cup debut versus Globalport at the MOA Arena in Pasay City Saturday night.
The Gin Kings, in their third conference under coach Tim Cone, and the Batang Pier, now handled by coach Johnedel Cardel and consultant Franz Pumaren, mix it up in the 5:15 p.m. mainer of the kickoff of the Petron Blaze Saturday Special series.
Both are coming off a dismal showing in the last Commissioner’s Cup where the Batang Pier failed to make it past the elims play due to injuries to key players while the Gin Kins crumbled versus eventual champs the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the quarterfinals.
Expectations are high the Gin Kings are now more acquainted with the system and schemes of Cone. And in all probability, the Batang Pier are better on the entry of Karl Dehesa, Ronald Pascual and Yousef Taha, beefing up Globalport’s old core group led by Terrence Romeo, Stanley Pringle, Billy Mamaril, Jay Washington and Joseph Yeo.
Both the Kings and the Batang Pier are reinforced by familiar imports in Paul Harris and Dominique Sutton,
respectively.
Harris had a previous PBA stint with Talk n Text while Sutton had a tour of duty with the defunct Air21 team.
Cone faces in a curious coaching duel his former Alaska Milk player Cardel who will be helped out by Pumaren, a former PBA head coach now holding the same item with the Adamson Falcons in the UAAP.
The Gin Kings will be back in action after being swept away by the E-Painters in their best-of-three quarterfinals showdown in the last Commissioner’s Cup.
In that tourney, the Batang Pier were good for only three wins against eight losses as they struggled on the absence of Pringle and Romeo.
Romeo is back in harness for Globalport, his confidence boosted by another stint with Gilas PIlipinas in the recently held FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament at the MOA Arena.
The former FEU hotshot had decent showing against France’s Tony Parker and Thomas Heurtel and New Zealand’s Cory Webster.
He’ll be up against old rival LA Tenorio in the Ginebra-Globalport matchup that will be minus Greg Slaughter who’s still recovering from a recent surgery.
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