Ginebra sees clear threat in Eastern

MANILA, Philippines — Nearly two years after repelling foreign guest team Bay Area in an epic battle for PBA glory, coach Tim Cone prepares his Barangay Ginebra charges for a challenging dogfight against another high-powered Hong Kong team, Eastern.

The battlefront for this latest marquee matchup will be the Ynares Center in Antipolo where the unbeaten Gin Kings (2-0) and the HK cagers (4-1) are similarly shooting for their third straight win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

“Basically, they do really good things. They do the things you need to do to be a winning basketball team – they move the ball really well, they help each other on defense. They’re an excellent defensive team and they focus on that side of the ball,” Cone noted of their opponent in the 7:30 p.m. game.

“You’re not going to catch them by surprise because they are really solid fundamentally and you know, we’re kind of alike in some ways, the way they’re coached and the way we coach. So I think it’s going to be a really, really interesting battle.”

Justin Brownlee, who was able to enjoy an extended breather as the locals did the heavy lifting in their 92-74 dispatching of Phoenix last Friday, leads the Ginebra stand against the forces from HK – similar to what he’s doing for Gilas Pilipinas.

Brownlee and his Ginebra brothers like Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, Stephen Holt and RJ Abarrientos are expected to have their hands full against Eastern’s 6-foot-10 behemoth Chris McLaughlin and former Bay Area mainstays Hayden Blankley, Glenn Yang and Kobey Lam.