Barangay Ginebra and Meralco rekindle their rivalry Sunday right at the very venue of their classic championship showdown in the last PBA Governors Cup.
The Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan will be revisited as the Kings and the Bolts slug it out in their penultimate outing in the PBA Philippine Cup elimination round.
A crowd of over 54,000 stood as witness as the Gin Kings and the Bolts fought in the deciding Game Seven of their Governors Cup title face-off.
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There's no crown at stake this time, but there's also much importance in the Ginebra-Meralco grudge match.
The Kings take their first of two cracks at formalizing playoff entry while the Bolts fight to survive in their 6:30 p.m. tiff.
"No doubt, it's been a struggle for both teams since meeting in the finals. But we're both playing better as of late," said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
"It's another do-or-die game for us so we will go out and fight to stay alive," said Meralco coach Norman Black.
The Kings have become a lot bigger on the reactivation of Joe Devance from an injury.
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And while Ginebra welcomes the return of another key player, Meralco, on the other hand, continues to face health woes.
"Cliff (Hodge) will be out with a knee injury so my other bigs will have to step up and battle the huge frontline of Ginebra. Rebounding will be a key," said Black.
Cone, however, won't to take Meralco for granted.
"They will loot to put five shooters on the floor so our bigs will have to extend out away from the basket. We'll have to find ways to cover all of them," said Cone.
The Kings pumped back life in their playoff bid with back-to-back wins over the Kia Picanto (103-77) and the TNT KaTropa Texters (93-78).
Meanwhile, Meralco, though still heavily undermanned, gained some relief last time, checking a three-game slump with a 92-90 decision over Phoenix Petroleum.
Garvo Lanete, AJ Caram and Jason Ballesteros were shock-troopers that stepped up as Meralco hung on to its dear life with a third win against six losses.
"We treated the game like a championship game this conference because, for us, it's really like a championship. We lost and we're out," said Black.
"And even with the win, there's still a chance we'll not make it. We have to give everything against Ginebra," Black added. (SB)
