HAVING rested his injured back for quite a while, Akil Mitchell should be ready for his return. The question is his game readiness.
That's a focal point as Barangay Ginebra and Magnolia rekindle their rivalry, clashing in one of the two best-of-three face-offs in the PBA Commissioner's Cup quarterfinals firing off at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday.
Game One of the Meralco-Ginebra clash is at 7:30 p.m.
With Mitchell confined on the bench nursing back spasm, the Bolts lost their last two games in the elimination round and thus found themselves pitted versus the Gin Kings in the Last Eight.
The Panamian-American import also sat out the Bolts' EASL game versus the Ryukyu Golden Kings, and Meralco reeled to a 71-89 blowout loss.
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With Mitchell in harness, the Bolts thundered to 7-3 (win-loss), with a good shot at a Top Two finish, but then dropped their last two games against the Kings (87-91) and the Magnolia Hotshots (92-129).
Coach Luigi Trillo acknowledges they have to be at their best if they're to beat the Kings.
Incidentally, Justin Brownlee and his teammates are now 4-0 versus the Bolts this season, counting their 3-0 sweep of the Bolts in their best-of-five quarters showdown in the Governors' Cup.
And the Kings ride the momentum of a two-game roll going to the Commissioner's Cup playoffs, with a 120-92 blowout of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters then a 91-87 win over the Bolts.
But coach Tim Cone isn't carried away by their win over the Bolts - a game where the second and third stringers played the bulk of minutes in the second half.
"It was an opportunity. The game was more of an opportunity for us to get ready for the playoffs," said Cone. "So we wanted to make sure guys have not been getting a lot of minutes. You just don't know what's going to happen in the playoffs.
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"So, number one, you don't want your starters or your core to get injured in a game like this and going into the (playoffs), and you want to make sure that the guys who are not playing a lot of minutes have a chance to stay sharp in case something does happen in the playoffs."
For it's a mere warm-up for what could be fierce duel. (SB)
