By REYNALD MAGALLON
Top contenders Barangay Ginebra and TNT aim to extend their respective winning runs against separate foes in the 2023 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig on Saturday, Nov. 25
The Kings eye to notch their first win streak of the season when they battle the slumping Blackwater Bossing in the main event at 6:15 p.m. while the Tropang Giga take on the Meralco Bolts in the curtain raiser at 3 p.m.
Ginebra successfully bounced back from an embarrassing 26-point meltdown against archrival Magnolia with a 107-102 win over Rain or Shine. The win however didn’t come without a scare as the Kings survived a career game from Andrei Caracut who nearly carried the Elasto Painters to a 17-point comeback
Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said such performances are something he expects from almost every team that faces up against the Kings, since other players are naturally motivated to beat the defending champions.
“He played a great game. We are running into that a lot. We were running into guys really pumped up to play against Ginebra and come out with the career game. There’s a lot of career games against Ginebra. I remember Johnny Abarrientos had his career high in assists, rebounds and points against Ginebra,” said Cone about Caracut’s career-high 32 points.
The Kings hope to prevent that from happening again, especially facing up a Bossing team desperately needing for one or two players to finally explode and lead the team to a victory that would snap the team’s three-game slide.
Blackwater head coach Jeff Cariaso hopes guys like Troy Rosario, Mike Ayonayon, Jvee Casio and even rookie Christian David could be that man for the Bossing against the Kings.
The Tropang Giga, meanwhile, look to extend their winning run three against a Bolts team aiming to bounce back from their first taste of defeat.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson along with Jayson Castro and Calvin Oftana are expected to lead the charge for TNT as they try to slow down Su Braimoh raring to improve from his lackluster performance in the loss to San Miguel last week.
Chris Newsome, Bong Quinto and Aaron Black also hope to provide support especially with Allein Maliksi and Chris Banchero expected to still be sidelined.
