Laro ngayon:
(Araneta Coliseum)
6 p.m. – Ginebra vs Meralco
(Game 6, Ginebra abante sa 3-2)
SISIKAPIN ng Barangay Ginebra na tapusin ang serye at mapanatili ang korona habang pipilitin ng Meralco na makahirit ng ‘do or die’ sa Game 6 ng PBA Governors’ Cup finals ngayong Miyerkoles sa Araneta Coliseum.
Nakatakda ang salpukan sa alas-6 ng gabi.
“To close out a series is very tough. But we’ll not look back, nor will we look forward. We’ll focus on the game at hand Wednesday. Pag nandyan ang ‘Sixth Man’ namin (the crowd), kaya ‘yan,” sabi ni Ginebra stalwart at Best Player of the Conference winner Scottie Thompson.
“They only have three wins. (If) we win this game, we tie the series so that’s what we’re focused on right now,” wika ni Bolts coach Norman Black.
Lumapit ang Ginebra sa kampeonato makaraang magwagi sa Game 5, 115-110, sa likod ng mainit na shooting nina Justin Brownlee, Arvin Tolentino, LA Tenorio at Thompson.
Determinado ang Gin Kings na maiuwi ang ika-4 na korona sa huling limang edisyon ng Governors’ Cup.
Hindi naman basta-basta susuko ang Bolts, at umaasang makakaresbak para maipuwersa na maulit ang kanilang 2017 showdown — isang blockbuster rubber match.
Bagaman naghahabol sa series matapos ang back-to-back losses sa Games 4 at 5, umaasa pa rin si Allein Maliksi at ang kanyang teammates na malulusutan nila ang susunod na laro at magkaroon ng pagkakataon na putulin ang dominasyon ng Ginebra noong 2016, 2017 at 2019.
“Our mindset is: Let’s win this game then let’s do it again on Friday (Game 7). More than ever, we’re motivated to win the first championship for Meralco,” ani Maliksi.
“We’ll give it our best shot,” sabi naman ni big man Raymond Almazan.
Handa ang Kings sa mabigat na hamon dahil batid nila na hindi magiging madali na tapusin ang serye.
“We know that trying to beat a good team like this three times in a row is nearly impossible. When I look at it, it seems close but it’s really very far away,” said Ginebra mentor Tim Cone.
Sinabi naman ni Ginebra chief playmaker LA Tenorio na itatrato nila ang Game 6 na isang do-or-die match.
“We’ll definitely go for it on Wednesday. We can’t afford to be forced to a Game 7 kasi we know how difficult it is dealing with Meralco’s defense. It showed in the latter part of Game 5, sobrang hirap,” ani Tenorio. “So that’s our do-or-die game on Wednesday, not on Friday.” CLYDE MARIANO
