BARANGAY Ginebra and NorthPort fight in a crucial match Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum to usher in the final week of the PBA Commissioner's Cup elimination round.
It's the final match in the elims for the Batang Pier and the penultimate one for the Gin Kings. At stake is win No. 7 and a shot at a precious spot in the Top Four.
Going to the 6:30 p.m. tiff, the Gin Kings share fourth place with the San Miguel Beermen at 6-3 behind the front-running Magnolia Hotshots (9-1 at posting time), the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters (7-2) and the Meralco Bolts (6-2 at posting time).
Coach Boni Tan and his NorthPort troops are half-game behind the Kings at 6-4, with their stocks jacked up by a 106-89 romp over the Blackwater Bossing on Friday.
And so it's a virtual playoff face-off, with both sides determined to nail the win to boost their aspiration for a finish inside the Top 4 and its reward of a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals.
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The Kings finished 2023 with back-to-back wins, including a grind-out victory over the TNT Tropang Giga, thus, hanging in there at joint fourth with the Beermen.
The Batang Pier, meanwhile, stayed in coattails of the Kings and the Beermen with their blazing start in 2024.
"It feels good to start the year off with a win and build momentum going to the playoffs," said Joshua Munzon, the key player in their win over Blackwater.
"We're on the right track," said Tan, who steered NorthPort back to the Last-8 after its early ouster in the Season 47 Governors' Cup.
"It was a crucial game in terms of placing. Now we have to win our next game against Ginebra to get a better position," he added.
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It is expected to be a battle with momentum probably on NorthPort's side coming from their 17-point rout of Blackwater with tremendous lift from Munzon, import Venky Jois and Paul Zamar.
If any, an issue for the Kings is readiness coming from a 13-day breather.
But of course coach Tim Cone has long been there, and he knows his assignment.
He has much deeper bench at his disposal led by Tony Bishop, Scottie Thompson, Christian Standhardinger, Jamie Munzon and Japeth Aguilar. (SB)
