MANILA—Struggling squad—including crowd- darling Barangay Ginebra and defending champion Alaska—take the floor today looking to enhance their chances of making it to the semifinals of the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Gin Kings, blown off the court by Grand Slam-seeking Talk ‘N Text in Dubai last week, try to write finish to the Air21 campaign when they clash at 7:45 p.m.
The Aces earlier try to bounce back from a stinging loss last Sunday when they battle vastly improved Powerade in the curtain-raiser at 5:30.
Save for the Express who are holding on by a thread, the other three teams in tonight’s doubleheader are still within the magic circle of six squads that will advance to the semifinal playoffs.
Ginebra has a level 2-2 record, while Alaska and Powerade both have 2-3 cards.
Air21 has practically bowed out of it after taking a fifth straight loss flush on the chin Wednesday night against Meralco.
So far, the target is to win five games to be able to make the semifinals without complications. And after a total of 23 games played until Wednesday night, the Tropang Texters (4-1) and Petron (4-2) have practically nailed two qualifying slots.
Ginebra has four more games left in its eliminations schedule to produce at least three wins and make it without a glitch, while Alaska has to aim for no less than a sweep starting with the Tigers before clashing with Rain or Shine and the Kings next week.
But the Kings will be shorthanded tonight with import Curtis Stinson and two-time MVP Willie Miller suffering from different injuries.
Stinson, who owns the only triple-double game in the tournament, has a bruised right knee, while Miller, who was scoreless in Dubai, has back spasms.
Jason Forte is again expected to lead the Aces even as Powerade hopes to again draw power from Chris Porter and much-needed scoring from the prolific Gary David.
David, the leading local scorer of the Tigers this year, has been nothing short of spectacular in the last four games since coming back from a finger injury.
In a 98-96 upset of the Elasto Painters last Sunday, David announced his return to 100 percent by drilling in 28 points coming off the bench with Porter shooting 26 that went with 24 rebounds, four assists and six steals.