By JONAS TERRADO
As much as they are hungry to finally beat Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals, the Meralco Bolts still don’t see them as a rivalry.
“Normally a rivalry means both teams are winning and they’ve won both championship series,” Black said during Saturday’s press conference at Sambokojin Restaurant in Eastwood Libis in Quezon City.
“So, in that sense, it’s not so much a rivalry,” he added.
The Bolts are facing Ginebra for the third time for the biggest prize of the season-ending conference. While their two previous meetings have drawn the interest of fans, Black isn’t going to say that it is already a legitimate rivalry.
“There’s still a lot of interest,” he said. “I think we set a record for most people to attend a PBA game, the last time we play them in a championship series, so a lot of people do come and watch when we play Ginebra.”
“But I think we have to beat them a few more times before you can actually call it a rivalry,” added Black.
Meralco have fallen in the two previous title showdowns against Ginebra, the first in heartbreaking fashion in 2016 with Justin Brownlee’s sealing it with a buzzer-beating three off Allen Durham.
The Bolts were able to push the 2017 meeting to a deciding seventh game in front of 54,086 fans at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan. But Ginebra, with eventual series Most Valuable Player LA Tenorio leading the way, emerged victorious anew, 101-95.
But even the two disappointments couldn’t make Durham feel carried away at agreeing at such notion.
“I mean, we got to win. We got to win,” said Durham. “We can’t get caught up with the rivalry or what we gonna call it, this and that. I mean, bottomline is they beat us twice. They beat twice. So now, we gotta get back in there and try to get a win. So, that’s what we’re really focused on.”
Ginebra coach Tim Cone, on the other hand, said he’ll leave it up to observers to see if there’s such a case.
“I just think that we’ve been each other’s throats for a while, but that usually turns into a rivalry,” Cone said. “But I think that’s defined more by the press and by the fans. They are the ones who decide whether this is a rivalry or not.”
“Of course, we’re gonna be rivals no matters what because we’re both pursuing the same thing. Even if this is the first series we’re playing in, we’re both pursuing the same thing, even if this is the first series we’re playing in. We will be rivals,” Cone said.
“But if it turns into a rivalry, I think that’s really dictated by the fans’ interest and how the press picks it up,” said Cone.
But Cone later contradicted what Black believes.
“For me personally, for certainly,” said Cone. “Norman and I are friends, but I always felt that we’ve been big rivals. Even if we don’t play each other every time, we’re still rivals.”
“And we both like to win and both teams like to win, and that usually means that there’s a rivalry going on.”
