BARANGAY Ginebra begins its semifinal campaign in the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup on Friday following LA Tenorio’s announcement that he is battling cancer.
San Miguel vs Ginebra semis preview
The Gin Kings open the best-of-five semifinals against San Miguel at 3 p.m. to be played at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
It will be the first game of Ginebra after Tenorio revealed on Tuesday that he has Stage Three colon cancer. Tenorio had surgery a few weeks ago in Singapore, and will undergo treatment to fully recover from the disease.
Tenorio bared his situation to the team on Tuesday in the middle of their preparation for the San Miguel series.
The Ginebra camp has been quiet since Tenorio’s revelation but the Gins are reportedly all business and are expected to be inspired to win for their team captain. Tenorio even appeared in one of the practices of Ginebra and will serve as an assistant coach for the meantime.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone said the Kings will be in for a test against their sister team that finished at No. 2 at the end of the eliminations.
Cone said San Miguel has brought a different dimension into its game with June Mar Fajardo out due to an MCL injury.
“They’ve proven over the past three games without June Mar that they can play at a high level without him. In fact, they play a little quicker, more of an up-and-down. Their import (Cameron Clark) has an opportunity to dominate a little bit more inside. They’ve been able to overcome June Mar’s absence with flying colors,” said Cone, whose team defeated NLEX in the quarterfinals.
San Miguel coach Jorge Gallent said the Beermen will also be challenged by the reigning champions.
“Nothing comes easy now,” said Gallent, who guided San Miguel to a victory over Converge in the playoffs.
TNT and Meralco also start their semifinal series at 5:45 p.m.
The Tropang GIGA finished the eliminations as the top seed and will play the Bolts, who took the fourth spot and advanced into the semifinals after beating Magnolia in overtime.
With its high-powered offense, TNT clinched a berth in the semifinals after defeating No. 8 Phoenix.
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