The last time San Miguel Beer and Barangay Ginebra met in the PBA, Marcio Lassiter (right) had himself one helluva night. —AUGUST DELA CRUZ
The teams left jockeying for the PBA Governors’ Cup title have been trimmed down to the final four, and no one seems to have an advantage over anybody, which makes these two best-of-seven semifinal derbies the most interesting in a long while.
San Miguel and Barangay Ginebra tangle in the curtain raiser, while Rain or Shine takes on defending champion TNT in the nightcap of a doubleheader set on Wednesday at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City, and though no one ever said that a series can be won in the first game, dictating the pace carries a lot of importance.
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After being put through the gauntlet by Converge, the Beermen are hoping to be an entirely different squad when they battle the in-form Gin Kings in the 5 p.m. contest that marks the start of yet another sister act that, in the past, more often than not go down the proverbial wire.
SCHEDULE: 2024 PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals
“Those are things of the past,” head coach Jorge Gallent said of his charges’ two contrasting outings against the crowd darlings during the group phase where the Beermen narrowly lost the first time as the Kings needed Justin Brownlee’s 51 points to triumph.
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The Beermen made sure they left nothing to chance in the return match, crushing their fancied sister team by a whopping 49 points on the same night San Miguel’s Marcio Lassiter broke the all-time three-points record.
“This is back to zero. This series is [going] to be about adjustments and adjustments, and the best thing about it is we’ll start 0-0,” Gallent added.
Tactical tweaks will likely come to the fore in this duel, especially with the peerless Tim Cone on the other end. The two-time Grand Slam mentor has been neck-deep in utilizing the long break his club has had after sending rival Meralco home with ease.
READ: PBA: San Miguel outlasts Converge, faces Ginebra in semifinals
Cone told the Inquirer recently that the Kings have been making use of the extra practice days to stay “sharp and improve their execution and schemes.”
Something that, interestingly, his former assistant and fellow multititled coach Chot Reyes has been doing for TNT.
The Tropang Giga have found a new gear in quarterfinals and are hoping to go into the next once the 7 p.m. clash with the Elasto Painters tips off.
TNT has been using its transition game to the hilt in these playoffs with import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson leading the way, and it would be fascinating to see how its cast full of National Five mainstays fares against a young, hungry Rain or Shine side that has been unpredictable this tournament even with the bruising Aaron Fuller in tow.
55 titles
“What’s nice about us having different performers each night is that it makes us hard to scout,” said veteran Beau Belga, whose crew is coming off a five-game, character-testing series with perennial bridesmaid Magnolia.
Adding spice to this showdown is Rain or Shine’s eagerness to reach the Finals as the E-Painters, a team built through time, could battle either San Miguel or Ginebra whose wealth of talent have been assembled by trades.
READ: PBA: TNT, Ginebra guard against losing edge, momentum
Cone, for his part, has not looked that far yet.
“We deal with what we have and we figure out a way,” Cone said when asked about having to navigate a semifinal series without the injured Jamie Malonzo, Isaac Go and Miah Gray.
“Obviously having to go [against] June Mar (Fajardo) is gonna be a big concern for us as well,” he added of the league’s eight-time MVP.
Counting out the Kings just because of a shortage in firepower isn’t exactly the most logical thing to do, especially with the indefatigable Brownlee still playing at his prime and newcomers RJ Abarreintos and Stephen Holt finally getting settled down in their new home.
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Between the four teams are 55 championships and a bevy of talented players with riveting backstories. And to see them all figure in a long, exhausting series should be a treat for this basketball-crazed country.