Gin Kings and Bolts eye Philippine Cup top four against Dyip, Fuel Masters

Games on Friday
(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)
5:30 p.m. – Terrafirma vs. Ginebra
7:30 p.m. – Phoenix vs. Meralco

IT WILL take a luck for Barangay Ginebra and Meralco to still get into the top four for playoff bonuses but they want to at least keep that smallest of chances when they clash against separate foes in the heating up PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Way behind the race at seventh to eighth place with similar 4-4 slates, the only way up for the Gin Kings and the Bolts is to jack up as many wins as they can regardless of where they would end up, needing the stars to align with the losses of those ahead of them just to earn a shot at the coveted twice-to-beat incentives.

Rain or Shine (ROS) (7-2) leads the bumper-to-bumper race so far with reigning champion San Miguel Beermen (SMB) not far behind at 6-2. Magnolia, Converge and NLEX share the third spot at 6-3 for the first five playoff tickets and inside tracks to the Top 4. Lurking behind is Talk ‘N Text (TNT) (5-3). Then there’s Ginebra and Meralco, former rivals in a bevy of finals streaks, now in an unfamiliar territory at the cellar of the jungle.

But while coaches Tim Cone and Luigi Trillo keep their hopes up for that bonus chance, first things first and that’s to zero in on a sure playoff seat. Ginebra takes a shot at it at 5 p.m. against the also-ran Terrafirma (1-8) followed by Meralco’s similar bid at 7:30 p.m. against the ninth-running and fellow hopeful playoff Phoenix (3-6), in a do-or-die set-to to dodge seventh loss.

“Every game is a playoff game for us. We’re still in the middle of standings. I would not say we’re groping for form but we’re still searching for strides at this point so it’s cruial for us to win this before we go to Bahrain against a tough team in ROS,” said Mr. Cone, needing a win to strike within coattails of TNT and the rest of the gang.

“All these games are crucial for us for number one, just to get into the playoffs. We want to win as many games as we can, see where we are and maybe get lucky to get into the Top 4. We have to get lucky to have a lot of things break our way for that to happen. The bottomline is we gotta continue winning games.”

The Gin Kings are on a two-game streak including a 103-85 whipping of Blackwater, already out of contention at 1-8, after roller-coaster campaign that sent them to as low as 10th place.

And it’s the same situation for the Bolts coming off a two-game slid before snapping out of it with a 120-87 dashing of the Dyip. Their return to the PBA winner’s circle mirrored a hot tear in the EASL with three straights win and letting up in this pivotal stretch is not on their plans, especially if they wish to come back on top after winning the 2024 All-Filipino title at the expense of the mighty SMB.

“The quarterfinal ticket is there (for the taking) but I think we need to win two of the last three games. Kung maipanalo namin lahat, it might put us into a situation na may chance pa kami sa top four. Every game is a playoff game for us,” said Mr. Trillo. — John Bryan Ulanday