MANILA, Philippines — Trick or treat?
In this rare All Saints’ Day encounter, holder TNT’s task is to deepen the pit it’s been digging for pesky challenger Barangay Ginebra.
For the Gin Kings, it’s all about coming out of this horror show and making the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup finals a real series like it should.
Whether it’s the Tropang Giga moving on the cusp of back-to-back titles or it’s the embattled Gin Kings breaking through for 2-1 and extending the best-of-seven series will be known tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
TNT veteran Jayson Castro said the Tropang Giga approach the 7:30 p.m. third game as if it’s 0-0.
“Actually hindi namin iniisip na up kami. Ang thinking namin is one game a time. ‘Yun lang talaga. Every game ibibigay namin ‘yung best namin. Kung ano’ng magiging resulta, basta binigay namin yung best namin, sobrang happy na kami dun,” he said.
Such approach has been clicking, validated no doubt by TNT’s 104-88 romp in Game 1 and 96-84 follow-up in Game 2 that buried the Gin Kings to a 0-2 hole.
“It’s a first to four (wins) not the first to two so we’re still confident and we still got faith in each other to try to get a rhythm in Game 3 and try to turn the series around,” said defiant Ginebra import Justin Brownlee, who’s been outplayed by Tropang Giga counterpart Rondae Hollis-Jefferson so far.
Coach Tim Cone and the Gin Kings seemed to have no answer to the schemes of TNT counterpart Chot Reyes and his troops against Brownlee and their offensive machine thus far. And even their ploy of forcing Hollis-Jefferson to shoot threes backfired in Game 2 as RHJ knocked down six of his 12 tries from deep.
“I’m being totally out-coached and outclassed by Chot and Rondae is amazing. So we’ll try to figure out what’s going on,” admitted Cone.
Reyes braces for another round of moves and countermoves with his old pal and coaching rival Cone.