EVEN with a twice-to-beat advantage sealed, Meralco coach Norman Black said the Bolts will go all-out for its final elimination round match-up against Barangay Ginebra.
Meralco vs Ginebra preview
The Bolts will have the Gin Kings as their final assignment in the eliminations just a day after they defeated NLEX, 104-101, on Wednesday at the Don Honorio Ventura State University gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
Black said the Bolts will not let up in the match with much importance to the Gin Kings.
“First is to get there tomorrow and play Ginebra and try to win that game,” said Black. “That’s going to be very important. It’s going to carry some momentum into the playoffs.”
At the moment, Meralco’s opponent in the quarterfinals has yet to be decided, and a win bodes well to its momentum heading to the playoff round.
The Gin Kings, meanwhile, are in a precarious situation and are facing elimination, depending on the results of the remaining games of the conference.
The match-up between Meralco and Ginebra on Thursday will be the first time they will face each other since Scottie Thompson eliminated the Bolts in Game 5 of the Philippine Cup semifinals.
The Bolts and the Kings have been familiar foes but Meralco has been on the losing side most of the time, including defeats in the Governors’ Cup finals.
Black expects the match on Thursday will be as intense as previous outings.
“Everybody knows that we have a little bit of a one-sided rivalry against Ginebra but our games are always competitive. They are always tough. I’m expecting the same thing tomorrow.”
“All I can tell you is we will be there to win the basketball game. Even though we have already qualified for the twice-to-beat, we are there to beat Ginebra tomorrow,” said Black.
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