Roster changes spice up 3rd Ginebra-Meralco PBA finals showdown

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Barangay Ginebra and Meralco are duking it out in the PBA Governors’ Cup finals for the third time in four years and while some things remained the same, the changes in both teams are expected to make the showdown even more interesting.

Both the Bolts and Ginebra made significant additions to their rosters the past year with Meralco enlisting the services of Raymond Almazan and Allein Maliksi and Ginebra acquiring Stanley Pringle from NorthPort.

Baser Amer’s maturity also adds to the Bolts’ depth while the Gin Kings can now count on the services of Jared Dillinger, who was once on the opposite side of the matchup.

“Its been written a lot that they’ve increased their size with Almazan and Allein adds to their depth in the shooting guard position,” said Cone Friday at Upper Deck Sports Center.

Chris Newsome and John Pinto have also become key pieces for Meralco while the ever-reliable Allen Durham is still the Bolts’ anchor on both ends of the court.

But for Ginebra, te move to add Pringle, a former scoring champion and consistent MVP contender, and Dillinger will definitely spice things up in the finals.

“We’ve got some guys we picked up, we got Stanley and Jared and Art [Dela Cruz] wasn’t with us in the first two series,” said Cone.

“We’re a little different as well. Jared changed sides, and he was a big time player for them during those two series and he’s over here with us.”

But despite all the roster changes, the systems of  Norman Black and Cone, two of the best coaches in the league, remain in place.

“Norman’s system hasn’t changed that much, and my system hasn’t changed that much too. We’re comfortable with each other and I know what he likes to do and he knows what I like to do.”