By JAN CARLO ANOLIN
PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial is hoping that he made the right decision to give a long holiday break for Meralco and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel when Game 1 of the Governors’ Cup Finals kicks off on Jan. 7 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Together with their respective governors, Marcial decided to start the Finals series next year to give both teams ample time to rest and maintain the momentum for the players and the anticipation of fans.
Marcial added that venues, such as the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay and Smart-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, are also fully booked during the holiday season.
“Siyempre mas nakakaintindi sila. Mas alam nila – ng mga governors ko – kaya doon ako. Siyempre ‘di ba, para ‘di masira ‘yung momentum at pangalawa, nakapagpahinga sila,” Marcial said.
“Sana maha-hype ‘yun, sana hindi kami nagkamali.”
There will be both familiar and fresh faces when the two teams clash for the third time in the last four editions of the season-ending conference and Marcial expects nothing less but a good series.
Import rivalry between Meralco’s Allen Durham and Ginebra’s Justin Brownlee will heat up once again. But this time, Durham is now backed up by new additions center Raymond Almazan, swingman Allein Maliksi, and rookie forward Bong Quinto.
Stanley Pringle, meanwhile, will continue to add firepower for Ginebra while savoring his first Finals appearance in the league.
“Tignan natin kung kanino ang advantage sa pagkaka-reshuffle ng mga players,” Marcial said.
Marcial is confident that crowds will start to fill the venues in Game 2 when PBA brings the action to the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City after building up momentum in Game 1.
