Ginebra, B-Meg fight for outright playoff slot

Manila, Philippines - B-Meg and Barangay Ginebra, two teams with a history of fierce rivalry dating back to the time of Robert Jaworski and Ramon Fernandez, meet in yet another big encounter, disputing an outright playoff shot at the PBA Governors Cup finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.

They’re the same teams figuring in a semifinal showdown in the mid-season Commissioner’s Cup.

They renew their rivalry at 6:30 p.m. tonight, slugging it out for solo second place behind the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (9-3) going into the penultimate play date of the Governors Cup semis.

With similar 8-4 records, the Llamados and the Kings fight for a win that will mean automatic playoff crack at the finals.

Another win at the close of the semis Wednesday could mean outright finals entry. B-Meg has Rain or Shine as its last assignment while Ginebra closes its semis stint versus Talk n Text.

B-Meg missed a chance to catch up with Rain or Shine as the Llamados bowed to the Meralco Bolts, 101-104, Friday night.

“It would have been nice to get that game against Meralco which would have put us a game ahead of Ginebra and taken some pressure off the game for us,” said B-Meg coach Tim Cone.

“That Meralco loss was painful, but it didn’t kill us or our chances, and what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. We’ll see if we can live up to that,” Cone added.

The Kings are unbeaten in their last four games but express much concern versus the Llamados.

“We have to pick up our intensity and play a notch higher because B-Meg would for sure be raring to come back strong after their loss the last time out,” said Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen.

From joint third at the end of the elimination round, the Kings have rallied to second in winning all their first three games in the semis versus the Meralco Bolts, the Petron Blaze Boosters and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.

Ginebra tightened up the fight for the finals with a key 95-86 win over Rain or Shine Thursday night.

“I’m so thankful for this win. Honestly, I don’t know how many wins more do we need. But we’ll not think about that. We’ll just stay focused on what’s ahead of us. We’ll prepare hard against B-Meg,” said Tanquingcen.