May ipaglalaban ang Ginebra

Sa pagsagupa sa Bay Area sa PBA finals

MANILA, Philippines — Hindi lamang ang ka­ni­lang koponan ang ipaglalaban ng Barangay Ginebra sa pagsagupa sa guest team na Bay Area sa 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals.

Ayon kay coach Tim Cone, nakataya rin sa na­­­sabing best-of-seven championship series ang karangalan ng bansa at pangalan ng PBA.

“We are playing for more than just ourselves. We are playing for more than just Ginebra. We are pla­ying for the league. We are playing for the country,” wika ni Cone kahapon sa idinaos na PBA Finals press conference.

“It almost feels like we are a national team which is really cool and a lot of fun for us,” dagdag pa ng two-time PBA Grand Slam champion mentor.

Magtutuos ang Gin Kings ni Cone at ang Dra­gons ni coach Brian Goorjian sa Game One bukas ng alas-5 ng hapon sa MOA Arena sa Pasay City.

Dinispatsa ng Ginebra ang Magnolia, 3-1, at sinibak ng Bay Area ang San Miguel, 3-1, para plantsahin ang kanilang titular showdown.

Muling sasandigan ng Gin Kings sina resident import Justin Brownlee, Scottie Thompson, LA Tenorio, Japeth Aguilar, Jamie Malonzo at Christian Standhardinger.

Itatapat naman ng Dra­­gons sina dating NBA pla­yer Andrew Nicholson, 7-foot-5 Chinese giant Liu Chuanxing, Hayden Blankey, Kobey Lam at Zhu Songwei.

“We knew that he would bring a great team. We knew that they would display all the things that we all want to be like,” sabi ni Cone kay Goorjian. “And we are certainly not disappointed.”

Hangad ng 65-anyos na si Cone ang kanyang ika-25 PBA championship.

Ang Ginebra lang ang tu­malo sa Bay Area sa eli­­minasyon bukod sa Me­ralco.

“We’re playing a team that has good players and I got a team, a very talented team that I’m excited about, and we’re looking forward to that competition,” ani Goorjian.