(Alonte Sports Arena, Biñan)
4:15 p.m. – GlobalPort vs Rain or Shine
7 p.m. – Ginebra vs Blackwater
RoS battles GlobalPort
Rain or Shine plays GlobalPort in the 4:15 p.m. opener, on a high after Friday’s comeback win over Ginebra allowed the Elasto Painters to close in on becoming the sixth team to join the quarters.
Ginebra, which redeemed itself from that defeat to Rain or Shine with a 107-99 victory over San Miguel last Sunday, takes on Blackwater in the nightcap at 7 p.m. The Gin Kings can move to solo second and closer to the quarterfinal bonus given to the two best teams after the eliminations.
With five playdates remaining in the playoffs, Ginebra and Rain or Shine can’t afford to suffer another loss at this point of the conference.
Ginebra is tied for second place with San Miguel at 6-2, trailing solo leader Star with its 8-2 slate. Not far behind are TNT KaTropa and Meralco, sharing fourth and fifth at 7-3.
Coach Tim Cone’s Ginebra begins a stretch of two games in three days, the other slated this Sunday against Meralco at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
“We don’t want to look too far ahead. But we’re in a battle for that top two, we certainly like to have that top two, and we’ve got some good quotient possibilities,” said Cone. “We’ve beaten TNT, we’ve beaten Alaska, we’ve beaten San Miguel. Meralco will be a big game because that would be a head-to-head quotient game.
“But we can’t look to that game because we gotta think about Blackwater first. So we have a pretty good shot for the top two if we can win out,” he added.
Meanwhile, Rain or Shine is in high spirits after erasing a 16-point deficit exactly a week ago to stun Ginebra, 118-112, allowing import Duke Crews to win on his debut.
Crews had 28 points and 22 rebounds in his first game with Rain or Shine since the 2011 Commissioner’s Cup, much to the liking of coach Caloy Garcia.
