The Barakos and the Gin Kings are tipped to come out in superb form in their 7:25 p.m. contest as both teams skipped the holiday merriment and used the league’s nine-day holiday break to hone up for the match.
Red Bull Barako even brought in a standby import in James Penny but team manager Tony Chua said the team opted to stick it out with old import Quemont Greer, at least, for today’s game.
"We thought Q (Greer) is more suited than Penny for our team in this particular game. After this game, we’ll again study our options," said Chua in their decision to pit Greer against Ginebra’s Chris Porter.
Porter, who is a former Golden State Warrior, has been very impressive in his first two games with the Kings, averaging 30 points and 20 rebounds — both No. 1 in the league.
Porter powered the Kings to crucial back-to-back wins over the Talk n Text Phone Pals and the Alaska Kings giving them a playoff crack at the No. 2 semis seat against the Barakos.
The Barakos, with Yeng Guiao at the helm, likewise closed out their classification round stint with back-to-back wins over the Sta. Lucia Realtors and the Coca-Cola Tigers and they hope to keep their streak going in a bid to gain a fourth semifinals stint in the last five import-spiced tourneys. The Kings seek a third semis appearance in the last four Reinforced Conferences.
"This is going to be a good game. We’re expecting a highly physical battle because we’re up against Red Bull. They did couple of new things in their last few games but I’m hopeful we can cope up," said Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen.
Air21 and Talk n Text are also expected to slug it out as they clash in a separate playoff for the second outright slot in the quarterfinals.
The Express are looking to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since the wildcard playoffs was first introduced in the league in the 2004 Fiesta Conference.
The Phone Pals have a higher goal, having been in the finals in the last two conferences. The franchise hasn’t finished below third place in five tournaments under coach Joel Banal.
No matter what happens in the game, Talk n Text is going to advance past the elimination round for the 20th straight conference dating back to the 1998 Commissioner’s Cup. That’s the second longest streak among all teams, next only to the 24 of San Miguel Beer.
While the winner in this playoff ends up No. 4 and gains outright entry into the best-of-five quarterfinals, the loser will be relegated to No. 5 and will have to go through the best-of-three wildcard playoff to make it to the quarters.
Talk n Text is considered the outstanding favorite in this game. But Air21 coach Bo Perasol thought they have done their assignments well during the holiday break and they have what it takes to beat the Phone Pals although they will be short-handed minus Wesley Gonzales, who’s sick.
"The boys are in high spirits and they’re raring to come out to prove that our record in the team standings is for real," said Perasol whose squad tied formidable teams Red Bull, Ginebra and Talk n Text at second behind Purefoods at the end of the classifications.
In fact, Air21 was the first team to finish with a 9-7 win-loss card. The Express were later relegated to No. 4 slot with the Phone Pals due to an in inferior quotient.
Perasol said they intend to play an aggressive game in a bid to overcome the Pals.