By JONAS TERRADO
The PBA Governors’ Cup Finals is scheduled to resume Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena, with the league hoping for a smooth staging of Game 6 which was delayed following a fire that hit the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.
But what the fans of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel are hoping for in the 6 p.m. match is for their beloved team to finish off Meralco and win a fourth Governors’ Cup title in the last five editions.
Ginebra holds a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series, but its first crack at the championship was delayed due to the blaze that hit the Araneta’s Red Gate section hours before tipoff.
And instead of a potential clincher, the Gin Kings were given additional days to hone their strategies against a Bolts side determined to force a deciding Game 7.
Gin Kings coach Tim Cone is bracing for an exciting affair for everyone.
“There should be fresh legs all around both teams,” he said. “Should make Game 6 more exciting.”
Meralco immediately used the delay to practice on the day of the originally-scheduled match, a move coach Norman Black would like to see pay dividends.
It could also give players like Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar and Meralco’s Chris Banchero more time to improve their conditions.
Aguilar has played the last two games after being sidelined by a calf injury, but has been given limited minutes while slowly trying to get his timing back.
Banchero saw action in all of the past five matches of the series despite dealing with an injury on his upper body since the semifinal win over Magnolia Pambansang Manok.
A Bolts victory will set the stage for what could be a fitting finale to the 46th season that endured multiple delays related to the pandemic on Sunday at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
The league announced the Game 7 venue yesterday through its social media platforms after quick discussions following the Araneta fire that stretched the series schedule.
More than 54,000 fans, which remains a PBA record, showed up back in 2017 when Ginebra beat Meralco to claim the Governors’ Cup title.
The PBA last staged a game at the cavernous facility back in Jan. 2019 which saw Ginebra beating TNT to open the 44th season.
