Beermen, Gin Kings begin championship showdown
After all the hypes and rhetoric, the San Miguel Beermen and the Barangay Ginebra Kings now let their game do the talking as they begin their PBA Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven titular faceoff tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
It could well be a slambang battle right in the series opener especially with the two teams given a good amount of time to rest, recharge and prepare after the semifinals.
Tipoff is at 7 p.m. after the traditional callout ceremony to usher in a PBA finale.
“As always, Game One is important in any series. Coaches prepare their teams hard for this game. It’s exciting,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.
“I appreciate the extra time after the semis. We got time to rest and prepare, and this makes it a quality Game One,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
“The three days of rest for us and four days for them will be beneficial to both teams. They have a great momentum and we have a great momentum. It would be a great Game One,” Cone added.
It’s a fight for supremacy between two teams with a combined haul of eight crowns in the last 10 conferences.
The two teams met in the finals only once in those stretch, with the Beermen reigning over the Kings, 4-1, in the 2017 Philippine Cup championship.
The Kings, however, had their payback two conferences later as Ginebra foiled San Miguel’s grand slam drive in winning their Governors Cup quarterfinals matchup then going on to win the crown.
They renew their rivalry in a series that will finally showcase the matchup everybody wants to see – The Kraken versus Greg-zilla.
Greg Slaughter was sidelined by an ACL injury in their 2017 all-Filipino title duel. With Slaughter in harness, the Kings can now match up better with June Mar Fajardo and his teammates.
“He’s got June Mar coming up and Renaldo Balkman at times. So it’s going to be a challenge for him, but I think he’ll be up for the challenge,” said Cone.
“Greg has been playing great. I just really enjoyed watching him improve defensively, and with his schemes, and knowing how to play people, and being attentive to details. All of these things he had really grown through these playoff series having played big guys,” Cone also said.
Preparing Slaughter for the finals were matchups with huge imports Arinze Onuaku of Meralco in the quarterfinals and Reggie Johnson of Rain or Shine in the semifinals.
Fajardo, meanwhile, has an extra motivation in his desire to avenge a loss to Slaughter in their CESAFI days in Cebu.
“We met in the finals in Cebu, and my team lost. Hopefully, I win this time,” said Fajardo.
The rest are all raring to give everything in this veritable duel of champs.
San Miguel is in its 40th final with a chance to nail down a 26th crown while Ginebra eyes an 11th title in 24 championship series.