With its core well rested, Alaska slugs it out Friday with a Barangay Ginebra side that just came off a tough grind, with the Aces looking for that one win to advance to the Final Four of the PBA Governors’ Cup.
Tipoff is at 7 p.m. at Smart Araneta Coliseum with the top-ranked Aces heavily favored to prevail against the Gin Kings, who barely made it to the playoffs at No. 8.
Fourth-seeded Globalport, also enjoying a twice-to-beat advantage, takes the floor at 4:15 p.m. against defending champion Star, which seems to be peaking at the right time.
Romeo Travis played just the first half of Alaska’s losing game against the Batang Pier Thursday night and is expected to be ready for an all-out war with the Kings, who squeezed into the quarterfinals with a 110-107 win over NLEX on Wednesday night.
Coach Alex Compton played Travis in just under 18 minutes and gave his reserves much-needed playing time to sharpen up for the big games ahead.
Alaska finished runner-up to San Miguel Beer in the Philippine Cup and bowed out of the quarterfinals of the Commissioner’s Cup. But the Aces have come out with renewed hunger and are looking ripe for another shot at a title.
Sonny Thoss and Calvin Abueva are expected to give Travis help underneath against the tall frontline rotation of the Kings led by the 7-foot Greg Slaughter.
The winners of the two series will advance opposite each other in a best-of-five affair for a berth in the Finals, which will be a race-to-four.
Globalport is enjoying a twice-to-beat advantage for the first time in franchise history. But it almost did not happen after Alaska, despite playing all-Filipino in the second half, gave the Batang Pier a run for their money before bowing.
Jarrid Famous and Omar Krayem should come up with big numbers if the Batang Pier hope to forge a winner-take-second game.
Terrence Romeo will be the main local gun of coach Pido Jarencio.
“The players know what is at stake and it’s a good thing that we have an advantage over them (Hotshots),” Jarencio told the Inquirer, referring to the twice-to-beat edge. “We will give it our best.”
Marqus Blakely will lead the Hotshots on both ends and is expected to be the man coach Tim Cone will call on to mark the 6-foot-11 Famous, who has turned into a mean offensive machine for Globalport.