ANTIPOLO – San Miguel’s Grand Slam bid will be on the line when the Beermen take on Barangay Ginebra in the most anticipated match-up in the PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals.
After a 114-109 loss to TnT at the end of the elimination round on Wednesday, the Beermen found themselves as the fifth seed and on a collision course with fourth-ranked and twice-to-beat sisiter team Ginebra.
TNT, meanwhile, finished as the third seed and will face sixth-ranked Magnolia in an equally interesting quarterfinal match-up with the KaTropa holding the twice-to-beat advantage.
In other match-ups, second-ranked Meralco set up a quarterfinal showdown against seventh-seed Alaska while the top-ranked NLEX goes up against eighth-seed NorthPort.
The San Miguel-Ginebra match-up, however, is expected to draw the most interest as the Beermen are only one defeat away from losing the Grand Slam bid.
They will look to get past Ginebra, a team that at one time won two straight Governors’ Cup crown in 2016 and 2017.
The match is slated on Sunday right after the Alaska-Meralco game at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum, with a rubber match, if necessary, slated on Tuesday at the Big Dome.
San Miguel coach Leo Austria is wary about the match-up against Ginebra, more so since it was the Gin Kings who also stopped their Grand Slam bid in the 2017 Governors’ Cup when the Beermen, seeded sixth at that time, lost to the Gin Kings, ranked No. 3 in the tournament.
“It will be a tough match-up for us because Ginebra, if you still remember, when we were aiming for the Grand Slam, they were the team that beat us," Austria said.
The Beermen are coming off a tumultuous last few days that the team deal with the fallout from a fight in practice involving Dez Well, Arwind Santos, Kelly Nabong, and Ronald Tubid.
Austria though is staying positive.
“We are happy that we are still in contention in the quarterfinals,” said Austria.
TNT will face Magnolia on Monday in the second game following the first match between NorthPort and Alaska. The do-or-die matches, if necessary, will be held on Wednesday.
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