By REYNALD MAGALLON
Streaks. Pride. History.
A lot will be at stake as two of the three Group B leaders in San Miguel and Ginebra collide in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, Sept. 15.
Both with identical 5-2 records and in a three-way deadlock with Rain or Shine atop the standings, the Beermen and the Kings battle for an outright quarterfinals berth in the 7:30 p.m. contest that is expected to attract a mammoth crowd.
Serving as a fitting appetizer to the marquee duel is the clash between the playoff-seeking Blackwater and the still winless Phoenix in the 5 p.m. showdown.
Aside from virtually clinching a playoff spot, the contest features two of the league’s powerhouses now on the groove of things with the Kings looking to extend their four-game winning run and the Beermen also aiming to keep its three-game streak going after the showdown.
Both teams were also coming off big wins with the Kings taking down the Elasto Painters, 124-102, and the Beermen shrugging off the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 139-127, both on Friday, Sept. 13 – a fitting prelude to their duel.
Motivation is certainly also not lacking for San Miguel as it hopes to regain a measure of pride by getting back at Ginebra after the Kings defeated the Beermen, 108-102, in the first round.
Of course, at the center of the highly-anticipated showdown is the duel between two of the conference’s most prolific imports in Justin Brownlee of Ginebra and Jordan Adams of SMB.
Playing with a chip on his shoulder after getting replaced for one game by the Beermen, Adams made a statement performance on his return with 49 points and 11 rebounds and a win over Brownlee, who dropped a career-high 51 points against SMB, would also further solidify his case.
Brownlee, though, would certainly not allow to be outplayed as he was also coming off his own big game of 40 points and 10 rebounds.
SMB’s Marcio Lassiter, meanwhile, is on his own chase for greatness in that contest as he guns for the all-time three-point list leaderboard – providing a historic sidelight to the marquee showdown.
Lassiter is now three triples away from dethroning current three-point king Jimmy Alapag who has 1,250 triples to his name.
All of that being said, Ginebra head coach Tim Cone is expecting nothing but a tough fight against SMB.
“We always have tremendous battles with San Miguel. We often come out on the short end. We don’t beat them by as much as they beat us but we’re capable. We’re coming into this game hoping we can repeat,” said Cone, who aside from Brownlee, will be relying on guys like Japeth Aguilar, Stephen Holt and Scottie Thompson to match the Beermen’s firepower.
Of course, June Mar Fajardo will be at the forefront for SMB along with Lassiter, CJ Perez, and Chris Ross.
