Fiery Kings, relaxed Aces begin series

ALASKA coach Luigi Trillo (fifth from left) joins hands with Ginebra counterpart Alfrancis Chua and commissioner Chito Salud (center) in yesterday’s press conference for the Cebuana Lhuillier-sponsored PBA Finals. With them are both teams’ main cogs. PBA IMAGES / Nuki Sabio

Barangay Ginebra, fiery and intense, likes to run at any given chance. Call the Gin Kings: Fire. Alaska, cool and composed, likes to set the tempo every game. Call the Aces: Ice.

That, more or less, will be how the best-of-five Finals of the Cebuana Lhuillier-PBA Commissioner’s Cup will be played: run-and-gun on one end and deliberate on the other as Game 1 gets off the ground today at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

The series provides a fresh flavor as both squads have not won a championship in the last three years.

The opposing coaches believe that the 7:30 p.m. game is crucial since it will establish the teams’ respective identities early in the short series with Alaska having a slight edge being the fresher team.

The Aces played five games to get to the Finals compared to the Gin Kings’ seven, but Ginebra went through a total of four KO matches with top-tier squads, Rain or Shine in the quarterfinals and Talk ‘N Text in the Final Four.

“We like to dictate the tempo, they like to run,” Alaska coach Luigi Trillo said yesterday during the press launch of the Finals. “They thrive in the open court, get their fire from transition.

“We’re No. 1 in limiting teams, forcing turnovers. Our identity is defense. It’s going to be fire and ice,” added Trillo, who is on his first title series as head coach.

Vernon Macklin of Ginebra and Robert Dozier of Alaska are also studies in contrast. Macklin plays with reckless abandon every night and Dozier steps up when needed the most.

Both imports have been the key to their respective teams’ campaigns and both are very excited to be in a stage neither of them had thought was this big.

“I didn’t realize that basketball is this big in the Philippines,” Dozier said. “We will give (fans) a great show. We have great chemistry, and that’s the most important thing to winning a championship.”

Chua will be making his second title series appearance in the PBA, with the first happening 14 years ago in a losing stand with Tanduay.

Ginebra will be chasing the ninth title for its popular franchise, while Alaska will be gunning for its 14th, and the first in the post-Tim Cone era.

“There’s no need to hype this series,” commissioner Chito Salud said. “The storylines are thick, the drama is dripping.”