Gin Kings wary of Elite
After barely beating GlobalPort the last time, the Barangay Ginebra Kings are convinced they have to be smarter and better as they take on the dangerous Blackwater side in the PBA Philippine Cup at the MOA Arena in Pasay City tonight.
“We’ll need to be a lot better than what we were in our last game,” said coach Tim Cone as they shoot for a third straight win against the Elite in their 7 p.m. setto.
“We’re very leery of Blackwater. They beat us up in a practice game before the start of the conference. They have talented wings and have good size starting with (6-foot-7 Poy) Erram. They are truly one of the up and coming teams. They are building their team the right way,” Cone also said.
The Elite, meanwhile, are raring to come out and go for an upset against the reigning Governors Cup back-to-back champs.
“It would be something special for us if we be the first team to hand Ginebra its first defeat in the conference,” said Blackwater coach Leo Isaac.
After coming up short in their bid against the Meralco Bolts, the Elite played a solid game throughout to turn back the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 92-87, on December 29.
The E-Painters look to bounce back from that loss while the Batang Pier go for a first win in three starts as they clash in the day’s other game at 4:30 p.m.
But much focus is on the Gin Kings as they try to preserve a winning run from their successful Governors Cup title defense.
Cone insists though they have to do a better job.