Gin Kings, FiberXers eye closeout victories

November 6 ------ Barangay Ginebra tries to close out San Miguel Beer anew while Converge anticipates a major response from Rain or Shine as the two teams look to cement their place in the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals on Friday.

Denied a sweep, Ginebra gets a second chance to close out its sister squad at 5:15 p.m. at Smart Araneta Coliseum before Converge takes a crack at its first-ever semifinal berth that has eluded it twice.

Both teams hold 2-1 series leads after contrasting results, and they hope to get the job done and join defending champion TNT and NLEX in the Final Four slated for Dec. 4. “I’m proud of the way we played; I’m proud of the way we battled,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone. “So hopefully we bring that same battle, but this time we make some shots and handle the ball better.”

The Gin Kings came close to sending the Beermen to vacation despite trailing for most of the way, and that is something they are hanging on to as they look to prevent San Miguel from grabbing another lifeline.

Meanwhile, Converge wants to deliver the hammer blow on Rain or Shine and get past the quarterfinal round for the first time in the history of the four-year-old franchise. But the Elasto Painters are expected to make them earn it. “We will try to push this to the limit,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao. “Wherever that limit is, we will get there.”

Converge has gotten vital contributions from Calvin Abueva, Jonnel Policarpio and Mikey Williams during the last two games, and the FiberXers want to see that repeated in their bid to pull off the biggest win in franchise history.

The FiberXers have been staring at the semifinals since joining the league in 2022, with original members Justin Arana and Alec Stockton falling short on two separate occasions.

Ginebra, on the other hand, has been used to making the semifinals the past 11 conferences, and the Kings will look to keep the streak going.

Import Jordan Murphy, Isaac Go, Scottie Thompson and RJ Abarrientos have been key to the Gin Kings being in the driver’s seat, but they will try to atone for falling short of ending the Beermen’s run the last time in Dasmariñas, Cavite.

But if there’s any team that can overhaul series deficits starting from zero, it’s San Miguel, which is famous for its “Beeracle” run from 0-3 down in the 2015-16 Philippine Cup Finals against Alaska.

Source: sports.inquirer.net