How far will the third PBA Governors’ Cup Finals meeting between Barangay Ginebra and Meralco go?
That is among the many questions asked by many, with the Gin Kings and the Bolts ready to vie for supremacy in the season-ending conference for the third time in four seasons.
The title series — which starts on Tuesday — marks another chapter to the budding rivalry. Ginebra looks to keep its mastery over Meralco, while the latter aims to exact revenge on the crowd darlings.
For the league’s winningest coach Tim Cone, he would like his Barangay to finish the best-of-seven series as quickly as they can. And he also knows that the opposition also feels the same way.
“If you can finish it early… we’d like to. They would like to finish it early, we would like to finish it early,” he said during the Finals’ presser Saturday at Sambokojin in Eastwood, Quezon City.
However, Cone — who’s now gunning for his 22nd PBA championship — strongly feels that the series will go the distance since slugging it out for the crown are “two really good teams.”
“But, I think, our feelings are it’s gonna go down to a Game Seven,” the two-time Grand Slam coach said.
“That’s generally the case when you have two really good teams. We’ll throw grenades at each other back and forth for a few games, and try to come down to the wire and see who wins it all.”
And should that really happen, Meralco chief mentor Norman Black declared that his chargers are ready for it.
“We feel like we’re in good shape,” said Black, who also has a Grand Slam feat under his belt.
“We tried to pace our players throughout the entire conference to make sure they would stay fresh. We just played TNT in a Game Five, so we went the limit as far as the semifinals is concerned.
The decorated Black closed, “We will be ready just in case it does go to a Game Seven.”
