Expect battle royal between Ginebra, TNT
For Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone, they’re now in the crucial stretch of a tourney where they have to battle and brace up for the next level of competition.
Cone looks forward to what could well be a battle royal between his Gin Kings and the Tropang TNT Texters in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum at Wednesday.
“It’s the homestretch so obviously every game is crucial at this point. We play a couple of elite teams which makes our road a little tougher, but we’ll have the opportunity to learn about ourselves and prepare for the playoffs,” said Cone.
Ginebra seeks an outright playoff entry while TNT looks to break free from a heavy four-way logjam at fifth place with Rain or Shine, Mahindra and NLEX as the Kings and the Texters slug it out at 7 p.m.
At 5-3, the Kings are in contention for a Top Two finish which rewards a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals.
Ginebra, however, faces a tough last three assignments in the elims in TNT, San Miguel Beer and Meralco.
The Kings are coming off a 102-101 thriller of a win over the Phoenix Fuel Masters – the last in a string of five stirring triumphs in their last six games.
The Texters are also on the rise but still badly need to win as much as they can as they’re in a precarious spot at 4-4.
And they also have tough homestretch assignments in Ginebra, Mahindra and San Miguel Beer.
Their goal is at least to make the Top Six to avoid a quarters matchup with a twice-to-beat advantage.
“But first, we have to make the quarterfinals,” said TNT coach Jong Uichico
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