BARANGAY Ginebra and Magnolia clash on Saturday as the PBA holds a doubleheader on Christmas Day for the first time in four years.
The Gin Kings and the Hotshots collide at 6:45 p.m. in the 2021 Governors’ Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum, part of the two-gameday weekend dubbed as ‘Season of Joy’ supported by Quezon City mayor Joy Belmonte as part of the tribute to the city’s frontliners.
This is the fourth time that the two rivals clash on Christmas Day but the Gin Kings have won all three previous matches including in 2017, 89-78, at the Philippine Arena in the most recent Christmas Day game.
The match also comes two weeks after the league re-opened its doors to fans during the pandemic.
“Manila Clasico is always a battle,” said Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone. “I think both teams look forward to playing. There’s not a lot of need for motivation because they are super motivated to play against each other. They know how important it is to the fans.”
Both teams have a clean slate, with Ginebra beating Phoenix, 125-121, in overtime on Sunday for its third victory and Magnolia edging Rain or Shine, 109-98, on that same day for its second win.
“Magnolia is really tough. The games they’ve played haven’t been close. They are playing at a really, really high level,” said Cone.
Chito Victolero faces off with Tim Cone anew.
Like Cone, Magnolia coach Chito Victolero also expects a battle against Ginebra more so because of the presence of spectators.
“It’s just another game although malaking factor ‘yung crowd. During the bubble, it’s a Clasico pero ‘yung hype nung game hindi ganun dahil walang crowd. But the crowd is back. We just want to prepare for this game just like the other games but I don’t need to motivate my players in this kind of game because of the hype, the fans will motivate the players,” said Victolero.
In the first game, NLEX hopes to maintain its clean record and the top spot in the standings when it collides with Phoenix Super LPG at 4 p.m.
The Road Warriors are going into the game with four straight victories after beating Terrafirma, 116-86, to become the unlikely leaders of the conference.
Phoenix has lost two in a row and hope to end the skid as it plays on Christmas Day for the first time in franchise history.
The games will also be an opportunity for the Quezon City LGU to thank the frontliners who risked their lives during the pandemic and made an effort to help in the vaccination program which contributed to the low coronavirus cases in the city.
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