BY REYNALD MAGALLON
Bitter rivals Meralco and Barangay Ginebra figure in a marquee showdown with no team coming in with real advantage over the other in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup clash at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Friday, Oct. 17.
Riding the crest of their breakthrough wins just a day ago, both the Bolts and the Kings aim to string together back-to-back victories at the end of their contest that tips off at 7:30 p.m.
Serving as an equally interesting appetizer is the clash between Magnolia and Titan Ultra with the latter gunning for a 2-0 start while the latter is raring to bounce back from its first loss in the first offering at 5:15 p.m.
Coaches of both teams foresee an even battle between Meralco (1-2) and Ginebra (1-1), with the team with more grit and fighting spirit expected to come out victorious.
“We both played today. They played a tough game, we played a tough game. We know each other pretty well. We played them a lot so the preparation in terms of game planning isn’t going to be difficult for either team,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone
“It is just getting the rest and getting the guys back locked into the game,” he added more concerned with the short turnaround heading into the game.
For one, some of his players were playing under the weather despite pulling off a dominant 92-77 triumph over TNT.
RJ Abarrientos played through flu but still delivered while Scottie Thompson bounced back from a scoreless Season 50 debut with 10 points and nine assists.
The frontline of Japeth Aguilar and Troy Rosario also had double-double performances to carry the team.
With Ginebra finally looking like its best form, Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo said his team must match and play to their opponent’s level.
“We got to come out and play our game. It’s gonna test our resilience kasi sunud sunod ang laro namin. wWe can say that they have the advantage if they have four, five days to prepare but right now we are coming in even,” Trillo said of the matchup.
“There is no team that has an added advantage kasi may laro rin sila, so we both just have to bring it,” he added as he expects veteran players like Chris Newsome, Allein Maliksi and Raymond Almazan to once again deliver to help the team pick up its second win.
