BARANGAY Ginebra goes for a semifinal berth on Friday when it goes up against Rain or Shine in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena and Cultural Center.
The top-seeded Kings square off against the Elastopainters at 6:45 p.m.
Following an 8-3 win-loss record in the elimination round, the Gin Kings moved on the cusp of advancing into the semifinal round with their twice-to-beat advantage.
Ginebra comes into the series well-rested after finishing the eliminations with a 102-80 win over Terrafirma last Monday, but head coach Tim Cone said getting the top seed isn’t an assurance of a successful campaign.
Even during the elimination round, Cone said the team’s focus isn’t taking first place but ensuring that the Kings enter the quarterfinals with a twice-to-beat advantage.
“When you're the No. 1 seed, everybody assumes you're going to make it to the finals and that's not always the case. So you've got to make sure the guys understand that, it's a luxury to be No. 1 but it's still no guarantee and you got to make sure you work through it,” said Cone.
Meanwhile, one thing going for Rain or Shine is that it had already defeated Barangay Ginebra in the eliminations, scoring an 85-82 overtime win last October 27.
Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia admitted that they will be facing a different Ginebra squad from the time the Elastopainters defeated the Kings two weeks ago.
“Sabi ko lang sa mga players, we just have to look forward to the Ginebra game and kalimutan na namin ‘yun,” said Garcia.
Garcia was referring to its final elimination round match against Phoenix in which it wasted a 14-point lead before eventually being beaten by Phoenix Super LPG, 90-88, to fall to the eighth seed.
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