Blackwater will look to finish what it started against Ginebra exactly three months after its last meeting with the traditional powerhouse as the two teams headline Group B action in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup on Friday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Tip-off is set for 7:30 PM, with the Bossing aiming to give head coach Pat Aquino his first victory over the Kings. They had come close to pulling off a stunning upset in their Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup meeting on April 24.
Under the same Big Dome lights, the former Gilas Women head coach was only weeks into his tenure as Blackwater’s bench tactician but quickly made an impact, guiding his squad to a blazing start against the crowd favorites.
However, Ginebra’s championship experience eventually showed, especially in the clutch. Stephen Holt drained a pair of crucial three-pointers midway through the fourth quarter to put the Kings ahead for good en route to a 115-108 victory.
This time, Blackwater gets another chance to settle the score in a matchup between two teams eager to bounce back.
Aquino and his squad feel determined to return to the win column after their bid for a 3-0 start was halted by Meralco last Tuesday in Antipolo.
Not before giving the Bolts a major scare, though. They rallied back from down 18 early in the fourth with RK Ilagan nailing back-to-back hits to tie the game at 114-all, but couldn’t close it out as Chris Newsome scored the winner.
Ginebra, on the other hand, is shooting for its first win of the conference after its debut ended in a narrow 81-78 defeat to Phoenix Super LPG last Sunday.
Similar to the Bossing, Coach Tim Cone’s charges fought back from down 14 with less than five minutes to go. They even cut the gap to just two behind Riley Grigsby, but couldn’t complete the rally as Jeremiah Gray missed from deep.
Grigsby, brought in as a substitute for the recovering Justin Brownlee, had 42 points and 13 rebounds in his first-ever PBA game. And he will surely be one of the many targets defensively by the Bossing in their upcoming rematch.
As far as the Casino Plus sportsbook is concerned, Blackwater is coming into the bout as the underdog. The handicap is set at +4.0, while the over/under in total points scored between the two teams is at 211.5 points.
Bets can be placed here: https://www.casinoplus.com.ph/home/inGame?name=Basketball&title=SportBet.
Facing off at 5:15 PM are Meralco and Magnolia, with the former looking to extend its winning streak to three after stumbling in its tournament opener.
If they get the job done, the Bolts will move into a share of the Group B lead with the Fuel Masters, who currently hold a 3-1 record.
But they know it will be easier said than done. The perennial contenders will be up against a desperate Hotshots side that has dropped its first two games of the conference — first to Phoenix, then to Blackwater.
Adding even more motivation for coach LA Tenorio and his wards, they will be facing the same team that ended their semifinal hopes in the last Commissioner’s Cup, eliminating them in a virtual best-of-three series.
These two faced each other three straight times last conference, beginning in the elimination round, where Magnolia won convincingly, 93-76, to clinch the fifth seed entering the quarters.
At the time, Meralco was already assured of the No. 4 spot, and that game proved to be a preview as they set up a duel in the Final Eight, with the MVP Group-owned franchise owning a win-once incentive, which they nearly lost.
The Hotshots forced a do-or-die situation with a 95-89 win, and momentum was on their side, as it was their fifth straight victory. Ultimately, they’d fall short of completing the upset as the Bolts refused to get swept, 105-102.
That overtime loss was a heartbreaker, so it will be interesting to see how they’d respond — specifically Jerom Lastimosa, who strapped the team on his young shoulders in that sudden death.
Magnolia, despite its skid, is a +2.0 favorite as of 4:30 PM, according to Casino Plus sportsbook. The over/under is set at 195.0.
