BARANGAY Ginebra goes for a finals seat in the PBA Philippine Cup as it tries to finish off Meralco on Wednesday at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena and Cultural Center.
Game Four of their best-of-five semifinal series is set at 3:45 p.m. with the Gin Kings holding a 2-1 lead.
A 91-84 victory on Sunday at the Smart Clark Giga City-PBA bubble moved Ginebra closer to the inals, but coach Tim Cone expects nothing but a tough challenge for Meralco as Bolts fight for their lives in the bubble.
“It’s not easy just to roll over Meralco. They’re going to come back. They have the most experienced coach in the PBA who has been through not only play as an import and saw all kinds of defenses and has coached it. They have a young developing core that is just getting better and better,” said Cone.
Cone said the last thing he wants is for Ginebra not to play their best in Game Four.
“The hardest game to win is the close out game. I find oftentimes Game Four is harder to win than Game Fives in a five-game series. We understand that, we know that, and we just have to find a way through it. It really comes to being able to lift your intensity level of the other team because they are desperate now. They have to win,” Cone said.
“For us, we have a cushion. We can be a little bit kampante and that’s what we have to fight as coaches. To make sure that our guys don’t fall into that trap. It’s a human nature trap and it’s very, very difficult not to fall into it. That’s why closeout games are so hard,” he added.
Stanley Pringle will be a marked man after a 24-point effort for Ginebra on Sunday.
Meanwhil, Meralco coach Norman Black hopes to draw big games once again from his core which gave the Bolts victory in Game Three.
Allein Maliksi will once again be in the spotlight following his explosive offensive games in the series. He had 23 in the loss on Sunday.
“Simply put, we're in a must-win situation. We must play better on both ends of the court and we must bring a high energy level,” said Black.
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