MANILA – Whoever will emerge as winner between TNT KaTropa or Meralco Bolts in their do-or-die semifinals tonight, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings is anticipating a tough 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup finals series.
Kings head coach Tim Cone expects the best-of-seven finals series, which will start on Jan. 8, to be difficult either way with both KaTropa and the Bolts hungry for PBA championship.
The Bolts was able to stretch the semifinals series to a winner-take-all Game 5 tonight following a come-from-behind 95-83 Game 4 victory over the KaTropa on Saturday evening.
“They are going to be super hungry to play us,” Cone said. “If we play Meralco, certainly it won’t be an advantage. It’s a disadvantage because we play them twice and we beat them twice.”
The Kings won the Governors’ Cup titles in 2016 and 2017 at the expense of the Bolts with the first one being sealed by Justin Brownlee’s buzzer-beating three in Game 6 and the latter being stretched to a Game 7.
“Talk ‘N Text has been in the finals recently also so it’s not really that much of an advantage at this point,” said Cone.
Cone welcomes the lengthy break before the start of the championship series as it gives them more time to study and strategize whoever will win between the KaTropa and the Bolts.
“You can be nice and relaxed while you watch it. I haven’t watched their games because one, I don’t like to do that because I want to narrow my focus on what we are doing and I don’t want to be thinking about the other teams. Two, especially now, we know we will have a long break. Puwedeng maghabol,” said Cone./PN
