FAMILIAR OR NOT, HERE THEY COME
It might be hard to figure out what surprise each team will throw at each other on Friday when TNT and Barangay Ginebra get their latest battle for a PBA championship going.
The two rivals have been doing this dance a lot, creating a sense of familiarity between them.
“I don’t know what the difference is going to be,” Gin Kings resident import Justin Brownlee said of the best-of-seven series for the Commissioner’s Cup crown that tips off at 7:30 p.m. at Mall of Asia Arena.
Brownlee’s sentiments could be true. Or, in the spirit of gamesmanship, it also could be a smokescreen for potential gambits that may catch either team off guard.
The answer will be known in Game 1, which is an opportunity for both teams to set the tone of the series.
Ginebra will go into the Finals having already lost two recent championship bouts to TNT, and is expected to capitalize on the presence of Troy Rosario and Jamie Malonzo in the hopes of finally being on the winning side this time.
“You can know whatever you want to know,” Ginebra coach Tim Cone said. “But if the team executes well, you can still battle through that. And that’s [how things are] going to come down for us.”
Cone and TNT’s Chot Reyes are facing off for the eighth time in the PBA Finals, another subplot to the title showdown.
Main weapon
Reyes and the Tropang Giga will be looking to continue their mastery of the crowd favorites, even without Jayson Castro, whose absence due to a knee injury is seen as one of the factors that could affect the outcome.
TNT still has some resources in import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Calvin Oftana, Rey Nambatac and Poy Erram. But here’s how important Castro’s absence is: The veteran guard was the Finals MVP last November, when TNT took down Ginebra for the Governors’ Cup title.
“We could make our adjustments here and there, but after a while, it’s really going to come down to who’s able to get it done on the floor,” Reyes said. “Whether we’re familiar or not [with Ginebra], the deciding factor is what’s going to happen on the floor.”
Oftana will be the Tropang Giga’s main offensive weapon after posting 18.1 points per game this conference. He is being considered for the Best Player of the Conference award along with Arvin Tolentino of Cinderella semifinalist NorthPort.
Tolentino is third with 36.3 Statistical Points while Oftana is fifth at 31.9. San Miguel Beer’s June Mar Fajardo is ahead at 42.0, followed by NLEX’s Robert Bolick (37.1), with Converge rookie Jordan Heading fourth (32.6) but are all unlikely to garner votes after failing to make the semifinals.
Another element is the import matchup, with Hollis-Jefferson and Brownlee renewing what has become one of the PBA’s best rivalry among foreign players.
Hollis-Jefferson remains the motor that keeps TNT running, even while having to fast in observance of the holy month of Ramadan. His performance, not just against Rain or Shine in the semifinals but also for most part of the conference, has made him the leading candidate for Best Import.
Hollis-Jefferson is ahead in that race with 52.7 Statistical Points, followed by NorthPort’s Kadeem Jack (49.8), Rain or Shine’s Deon Thompson (46.8) and Brownlee (43.5).
