BARANGAY Ginebra and Meralco look to rebound from their disappointing defeats in the 2022-23 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
The Gin Kings and the Bolts square off at 6:45 p.m. on Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum, their first encounter since their quarterfinal clash in the Philippine Cup.
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The new conference, however, saw lackluster opening performances from both teams. Ginebra dropped a 93-71 loss to Rain or Shine last Wednesday, while Meralco squandered a 20-point lead to fall to NorthPort in overtime, 101-95, last Friday.
Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone thinks that his players will be able to fend off their struggles in the first. He surely hopes that it happens sooner rather than later.
Justin Brownlee, coach Tim Cone and the Gin Kings look to bounce back.
“It’s not panic time obviously,” Cone said. “It’s just our first game. We truly believe we will be there in the end. If you judge us in our first game, we are obviously a bad team. You are only as good as your last game. Our last game was really bad right now. We are a bad team. We have to own that. We have to understand that and turn it around.”
Meralco coach Norman Black is concerned about Chris Newsome, who suffered a calf injury in the game against NorthPort. His status remain uncertain at posting time, and Black said the question is how the team would adjust to the possibility of Newsome absent in the contest.
“I’m concerned with my team and with the injury of New and how we are going to make adjustments just in case he can’t play,” Black said.
In the first game, Rain or Shine goes for its second straight win as it takes on struggling Terrafirma at 4:30 p.m.
The Elasto Painters finally gave their returning coach Yeng Guiao a win as they beat Ginebra by 22 points.
Guiao hopes that the Ginebra win will inspire the players to improve even as they go up against a struggling team in the Dyip, who has lost 18 straight games dating back to last season’s Governors’ Cup.
“It’s rare that you beat Ginebra in such a manner, leading by 20-plus points,” Guiao said.
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