Ginebra governor Alfrancis Chua sees his team’s upcoming PBA Governors’ Cup Finals date with TNT as something bigger than vying for a championship.
The long-time exec is hoping for fans to come and watch the best-of-seven affair starting on April 9 as it won’t just be a battle between two of the league’s best clubs but also a peek of what’s to come in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games.
For starters, several members of the Kings and the Tropang Giga are part of the 28-man Gilas pool for the biennial meet in May, with the mission to reclaim the gold the program lost in the previous SEAG in Vietnam last year.
“Hindi po para sa Ginebra, hindi po para sa Talk N Text, kundi para po sa PBA, para po sa basketball, para po sa basketball ng Pilipino,” Chua said during the pre-Finals presser Monday at Novotel Manila Araneta City.
“Para makita niyo na karamihan ng maglalaro rito, ito po maglalaro sa SEA Games,” added the 57-year-old, also the SMC sports director.
Chua is hoping to have the same turnout to that of the 2022 Commissioner’s Cup Finals, where tens of thousands of fans trooped to see Ginebra take on Bay Area in a series that culminated in the Kings winning in seven.
It could be remembered that Game 7 saw a new PBA record 54,086 fans watch at the Philippine Arena to witness the Barangay’s 114-99 victory.
All that, of course, remains fresh in the mind of Chua.
“Nung last championship we’re playing against Bay Area, wala talaga akong pinapansin doon eh, lahat galit ako roon,” quipped the former coach with a grin.
Looking back, Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said before their title bout with Bay Area that the Kings were carrying a bigger responsibility since they were not only representing the team and the league but the country as well.
“We’re playing for more than just Ginebra. We’re playing for the league, we’re playing for the country — almost feels like we’re the national team, which is really cool for us,” the Gilas deputy was quoted as saying back then.
Now, that responsibility will be shouldered by the warring Governors’ Cup Finals teams, thus Chua’s hope for the fans to come see the action live.
“Nananawagan po ako sa lahat ng mahilig sa basketball, sana po panoorin niyo ‘to katulad nung sa Bay Area,” he said.
“Sana po, manood kayo at tumulong kayo dito. Para ho kami ganahan laro to prepare for the SEA Games.”
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
