He may be the odd man out in a group that knows one another like a book, but Chris McCullough already projects that the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup Finals between TNT and Ginebra will be talked about for a long while.
“I think this is truly gonna be one of the PBA Finals that’s gonna be remembered for a long time,” offered the former San Miguel Beer import during the pre-Finals press conference at the Novotel Manila Araneta City in Cubao.
It’s an interesting take for somebody making his first appearance in this age-old rivalry, but the 31-year-old knows a thing or two about the squads battling for gold for the fourth time in the last eight conferences.
His new team, TNT, was the very same franchise he and the Beermen beat on the way to ruling the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup. And he has known about their quality well before joining them as Bol Bol’s replacement.
But now he’s become familiar with their system after playing three games with the Tropang 5G — games that were crucial as they led to their ouster of sister team Meralco in the semifinals.
Then there’s the Barangay. He hasn’t fought against the crowd darlings before, but the Syracuse product is aware of their legend, and more so about their NSD spirit, which was on display against Rain or Shine in the Final Four.
Add to that his familiarity with Justin Brownlee, who turned out to be a long-time friend, back when they were still making names for themselves.
“Great team, we’re going up against a great player. This is going to be one of the ones that’s gonna be remembered,” McCullough said.
The former NBA pro’s presence serves as one of the many layers to yet another Finals meeting between two proud ball clubs. And it will be interesting to see how he’ll affect the entire best-of-7 affair that begins later tonight.
It opens at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, the very same venue where ‘C-Mac’ won his maiden PBA championship — and also where TNT and Ginebra played the classic Game 7 of the Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup Finals.
(C) PBA Images
Game 1 of the Finals is set later at 7:30 PM, and according to the Casino Plus sportsbook, Ginebra is favored to win, with the handicap set at -3.
Wagers can be placed here: https://www.casinoplus.com.ph/home/inGame?name=basketball&title=SportBet.
The Tropa won that bout, 87-83, and history is actually in their favor. It marked the third straight time that they beat the Kings in the Finals, with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson serving as the lynchpin of those triumphs.
But the 3-time Best Import is out due to an Achilles injury, putting McCullough at the center of attention in this highly-anticipated rematch.
“It’s a very different series this time,” head coach Chot Reyes reflected. “First of all, we have a different team because of the import that we have. The key, I think, is our ability to continuously adjust and adapt to Ginebra’s game.”
“And for me personally, my only objective is to be able to play at a high level. Because that’s the only way we can compete,” he added.
However, it won’t just be about who’s the better reinforcement. The local stars are just as important, with TNT leaning on Roger Pogoy, Calvin Oftana, and Jordan Heading, who regained his touch in the latter part of the semis.
Then, of course, there are the ageless Kelly Williams and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, both of whom have been sharing frontcourt duties.
Over at the Kings, there’s RJ Abarrientos, who’s the presumptive Best Player of the Conference. He had an especially sterling series against the Elasto Painters, capped by back-to-back 30-point showings to close out their foes.
There’s also Scottie Thompson, who’s back to his ‘superstar role player’ mode now that he’s more comfortable with Abarrientos as a running mate — a role previously assumed by future Hall of Famer LA Tenorio.
“It’s not fun being the second-place team,” offered Coach Tim Cone, who’s looking to grow his record collection of league championships to 26. “Both teams are deserving to be here. One’s going to come out on top.”
