BARANGAY Ginebra and TNT didn’t take long to close out their respective semifinals series and forge another finals showdown for the PBA Commissioner’s Cup championship.
The Kings scored a runaway 126-99 win over top seed Northport Batang Pier, while the Tropang Giga rallied back from 13 points down to deny the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 97-92.
Both best-of-seven semis series ended in Game 5 as Ginebra and TNT sealed a second straight title duel in Season 49 following the Tropang Giga’s conquest of the Kings during the Governors’ Cup finals last November.
READ: PBA returns to MOA Arena for Game One of Ginebra-TNT finale
Game 1 of the title series kicks off on March 14 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Before the finals, here’s some of the takeaways in Friday night’s final semifinal doubleheader at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
1.GINEBRA FACES TNT WITH FULL FORCE THIS TIME
What difference four months make. It will be a totally different Barangay Ginebra team which TNT will be meeting in the finals as added firepower has been provided to a roster that lost to the Tropang Giga in six games the last time they met in the finals.
READ: Troy sets aside friendship with Erram, TNT in first finals clash
Jamie Malonzo and Jeremiah Gray have since been reactivated from the injury list and playing healthy again, while veteran big man Troy Rosario came on board this conference as an unrestricted free agent.
The entry of the three made outright impact to the Kings and it showed with the way they dominated no.1 seed Northport Batang Pier in the semis. So will the Kings get their payback against the Tropang Giga with their loaded roster?
TNT beat Ginebra in its lone head-to-head matchup in the eliminations, 91-86, with Malonzo already in the lineup.
2.CAN TNT GO BACK-TO-BACK WITHOUT JAYSON CASTRO?
The Tropang Giga managed to survive the Elasto Painters in the semis without their injured team leader. Now can they do the same against Barangay Ginebra in the finals where the stakes are higher?
Prior to injuring his knee, Castro, 38, averaged 10.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.2 steals, not to mention the leadership and maturity he brings to the team as mentioned by coach Chot Reyes.
3.NORTHPORT FAILS TO LIVE UP TO EXPECTATIONS
The Batang Pier did overachieve this conference by finishing as the no. 1 seeded team for the first time in franchise history. They also advanced to the semis just for the third time, and first in the last six years.
Unfortunately, Northport wasn’t the same team that showed up in the semis from the one which played with confidence and cohesion in the eliminations.
Was it playoff jitters or just the Kings being way off better than the Batang Pier? Behind youth, talent, and athleticism, many were looking forward at Northport giving Ginebra at least a good run for its money.
But the series turned out to be perhaps one of the most lopsided in PBA history as the Kings won it by a winning margin of 22.2 points.
4.RAIN OR SHINE TRIES AGAIN NEXT CONFERENCE
The Elasto Painters fell short again of advancing past the semis, but they won’t stop from trying as coach Yeng Guiao vows the team will come back better and stronger in the season-ending Philippine Cup.
READ: Yeng says ROS needs mental toughness, learn to close out games
Rain or Shine has a complete team and the talent to play side-by-side against the league’s top contenders. All the Elasto Painters need are more seasoning as a cohesive unit especially in the end game. But the future does look bright for this franchise which have made the semis for the third straight conference now.
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