THE PBA Governors Cup resumes on Wednesday with a doubleheader at the Smart Araneta Coliseum featuring the showdown between rivals Meralco and defending champion Barangay Ginebra in the 5:45 p.m. main game.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams that faced in the finals of this same conference in four of its last five editions.
See RoS hopes new import Jordan Tolbert can salvage fading playoff hopes
The Kings, back-to-back defending champions, welcome back to their fold coach Tim Cone, import Justin Brownlee, Jamie Malonzo, and Scottie Thompson following their stint with the Philippine men’s basketball team in the just concluded final window of the Fiba Basketball World Cup qualifiers.
They will still miss the services of veteran big man Japeth Aguilar though, who is nursing an MCL sprain.
The team is fresh from a nine-day break since last playing Feb. 19 in a 119-93 rout of Blackwater and currently sits at solo fifth with a 4-2 record.
But the Kings will be up against a rejuvenated Meralco side that won back-to-back games against two top contenders.
The Bolts initially, defeated NLEX, 110-98, and followed it up with a grinding 86-84 win over Magnolia.
They’re just behind Ginebra in the standings at 5-3 and will clinch a berth in the quarterfinals with a third straight win tonight.
Rain or Shine vs. Phoenix
The 3 p.m. curtain raiser pits Phoenix against Rain or Shine, two teams in the lower bracket of the standings, but still very much in the race for a playoffs berth.
The Fuel Masters have suddenly risen in the season-ending meet, winning their last two outings for a 3-5 slate after losing their first three games.
They beat playoffs-bound Converge, 106-103, behind the season-high 28 points of rookie guard Encho Serrano.
In contrast, Rain or Shine has suffered with two straight losses for a 2-6 record.
The team brings in a new import in Jordan Tolbert with hopes of turning things around entering the homestretch of its campaign.
Tolbert takes over the injured Greg Smith II, who suffered a pulled hamstring in the Elasto Painters’ 110-99 loss to NLEX last week.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph