PBA Image/Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines—B-Meg and Barangay Ginebra, fancied crowd-magnets, clash against separate foes Wednesday as they start their climb from the bottom half of the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup’s standings.
The Llamados take to the Smart Araneta Coliseum floor first at 5:15 p.m. against dangerous Powerade before the Gin Kings battle winless lightweight Shopinas.com in the 7:30 p.m. main game.
B-Meg has a 1-3 slate as the Llamados still try to master the tried-and-tested Triangle Offense of coach Tim Cone that brought the firebrand American mentor huge success at Alaska.
And the Llamados won’t earn a break coming into their match with the Tigers, who bungled a golden opportunity last Saturday in Victorias City where they missed four free throws in the final 55 seconds which could have put Ginebra away.
Powerade will also have another offensive option when No. 1 Draft pick JV Casio plays just his second game, giving Cone another thing to worry about defensively with the Tigers already with Gary David and rookie Marcio Lassiter.
Casio, the 5-foot-10 former Smart-Gilas standout, was slowly broken in last Saturday against Ginebra and got the feel of what pro ball is really about. He was in and out of action in Victorias and wound up with only three points.
James Yap and Kerby Raymundo will remain the backbone of the Llamados, though the Triangle doesn’t necessarily require just a few personalities to dominate a game.
Joe Devance, Marc Pingris and Peter June Simon are the other dependable men for Cone.
Ginebra (2-2) is heavily favored against the Clickers, who are, like idle Alaska, winless after four games.
The Kings have superior firepower compared to the Clickers, who will be coming off an ugly loss to sister team Barako Bull in a match that saw the ejection of a player from both sides because of rough play.