By REYNALD MAGALLON
Barangay Ginebra begins its title-retention bid against the surprisingly struggling Converge while Magnolia and NorthPort dispute the early lead in the 2023 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, Nov. 17.
The defending champions Kings hope for a winning start to their campaign even in the absence of resident import Justin Brownlee in the 4 p.m. collision against the FiberXers who are still in search of its first win in the conference.
Raising the curtain to the much-anticipated clash is an equally thrilling showdown between the two still unbeaten teams, the Batang Pier and the Hotshots, in the first game at 4 p.m.
For the first time in a long while, Ginebra is parading an import not named Brownlee in former Meralco reinforcement Tony Bishop.
While Kings head coach Tim Cone felt bad that the team would not be defending their crown with the import that won it for them last conference, he expects Ginebra to still go out and compete for the title with Bishop at the forefront.
“I feel terrible for Justin and I feel terrible that we’re not being able to bring him back to this conference so we can defend his championship,” said Cone.
“We expect to go out and compete for a championship and we think Tony will be a huge part of that,” he added.
Out to provide support to Bishop are Ginebra stars Christian Standhardinger, Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar along with new addition Maverick Ahanmisi who ironically will be making his debut against his former team, Converge.
The FiberXers seemed to be groping for their identity in the departure of their two best scorers in Ahanmisi and Jeron Teng. After dropping its first two games, Converge hopes to discover its winning form with import Tom Vodanovich, Justin Arana and Jerrick Balanza leading the charge.
Meanwhile in the opening game, the red–hot Batang Pier will be put to a litmus test against the defensive-minded Hotshots.
