Ginebra Vs Rain Or Shine Opens 7:30 P.M. Semifinal at Ynares Center-Antipolo

Ginebra vs Rain or Shine was set for a 7:30 p.m. semifinal game at Ynares Center-Antipolo, putting Barangay Ginebra back in a conference where the Kings have not won a championship in seven tournaments. The matchup came in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup semifinals, with Ginebra still chasing a return to the finals after three straight losses there.

Ynares Center-Antipolo

The opening game of the semifinals was TNT against Meralco at 5:15 p.m., with the Ginebra-Rain or Shine tip following at 7:30 p.m. That made the Antipolo venue the center of the bracket for the day, with both semifinal series starting on the same floor.

Ginebra’s side of the draw carries the sharper pressure. The Kings won the Season 47 edition of the import-laden conference three years ago, then reached the finals three times and lost all three to TNT, including last season’s Commissioner’s Cup.

TNT And Meralco

That earlier semifinal opener matched two teams that already know each other well. Meralco had eliminated TNT in the season-opening Philippine Cup, then beat the Tropang Giga again in their lone Commissioner’s Cup elimination-round meeting, 110-106, after squandering a 20-point lead.

Both teams entered on short rest from do-or-die work last Saturday. TNT had beaten NLEX 118-112 after surviving back-to-back elimination games, while Meralco edged Magnolia 105-102 in overtime.

Trillo And Reyes

Luigi Trillo said of TNT, “Obviously, they are deserving to make the finals and they are hard to beat in a seven-game series.” He added, “But with the way we are playing, we deserve to be there, too.”

Chot Reyes pointed to Meralco’s balance and size, saying, “That’s a complete team. They’re playing at a very high level. If you remember in our elimination round game, Meralco blew us out, right?”

He also laid out the challenge in plain terms: “They have so many offensive weapons that it’s incumbent upon us to, number one, defend well and rebound. They’re also one of the more physical teams in the league and you see how teams are playing Bol. So, we have to be able to cope with that and play through that”

For Ginebra, the 7:30 p.m. start was the next chance to break a seven-tournament title drought and stop a finals skid that has already lasted through three trips. For Rain or Shine, the opener was the first step into a semifinal stage where every possession now feeds the race to the championship round.