GINEBRA PUTS STREAK ON LINE
Games today: (AUF Arena)
4:00 p.m. — Northport vs NLEX 6:45 p.m. — Ginebra vs Phoenix
CLARK — Red-hot Barangay Ginebra San Miguel guns for a spot on top when it clashes with Phoenix Super LPG in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup Wednesday at the Angeles University Foundation (AUF) Arena powered by Smart 5G here.
Action unwraps at 6:45 p.m. with the Kings eyeing their fourth straight win against the Fuel Masters, who are still licking the wound of their first defeat last Monday.
Meanwhile, struggling NLEX and Northport are out to end their string of misfortunes when they collide in the 4 p.m. appetizer of this explosive double-header that is being played inside a quarantine bubble.
With Roger Pogoy wreaking havoc, TNT Tropang Giga is regarded as the hottest team right now.
Pogoy, a defense-minded swingman, again waxed hot, delivering 30 points for the Tropang Giga, who dealt Phoenix their first setback in three games, 110-91.
With that, TNT occupied the top spot with 4-0, leaving Ginebra and Rain or Shine behind with an identical 3-0 win-loss card in the early stretch of this special conference.
Forging a tie with TNT would definitely be the main motivation of the Kings.
Ginebra is coming off an overwhelming 105-91 win over Meralco late Monday, giving it enough confidence to shut down Phoenix despite having stars like Japeth Aguilar and LA Tenorio still groping for form.
“It’s a huge bonus to have
3-0 despite having Japeth and LA far from perfect form. But the good thing is that they are slowly getting into shape and are now getting better,” said Cone, who drew 20 points from Aguilar in their morale-boosting win over the Bolts.
“Japeth is now a little quicker with the ball despite huffing and puffing in the fourth quarter.”
But defeating the Fuel Masters is easier said than done.
Phoenix is determined to get back on winning track following a massive meltdown against TNT.
Gunner Matthew Wright is tipped to make his presence felt offensively while shocktroopers Jorey Napoles, Jason Perkins, Brian Heruela and RJ Jazul are expected to step up and regain their bearings.
“Again, we just want to keep on competing,” said Phoenix coach Topex Robinson, who couldn’t wait for the return of star forward Calvin Abueva and Alex Mallari.
“We have nothing to lose. We just want to keep reminding the players to enjoy what they are doing. We don’t want to lose the energy we have right now.”