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Barangay Ginebra’s Scottie Thompson gestures after hitting a 3-pointer against TNT in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Barangay Ginebra doesn’t see itself having a firm hold of its fortunes for the twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup despite pulling off two wins that included a hard-fought result on Christmas Day.
“We need things to happen for us and we know that,” said coach Tim Cone after their 86-78 defeat of shorthanded TNT at Smart Araneta Coliseum pushed the Kings to 6-3 (win-loss) with two games left in their elimination round assignment.
Defeating TNT and, previously, Meralco, kept Ginebra within sniffing distance of the three other teams seeking to secure the important playoff bonus.
Magnolia was the first team to take the twice-to-beat thanks to a league-best 9-1 mark while Phoenix, Meralco and San Miguel Beer are also looking to follow suit.
Phoenix saw its six-game skid snapped by San Miguel in the other Christmas Day game but remains in second at 7-2 while Meralco holds a 6-2 slate for third.
San Miguel has the same record as Ginebra, but holds the tiebreaker in the event both squads end up with a two-way tie due to its win a few weeks ago.
Needing help
Slipups by these teams will benefit Ginebra, provided it ends the eliminations on a hot streak. The Gin Kings won’t be playing until Jan. 7 against NorthPort and will cap its schedule on Jan. 13 opposite NLEX in Legazpi City.
“The only thing we could control right now is to just continue putting up Ws (wins), trying to figure out how,” said Cone. “And if it’s all over with, let the cards fall where they may, but we definitely need help.
“So we will keep an eye on the other games, on the standings. But bottomline is, we got to control what we can control, which is to come out [with victories],” he added.
NorthPort is also aiming for a quarters berth and has an outside chance at the twice-to-beat with a 5-4 record while NLEX is currently outside of the top eight, in ninth place at 3-6.
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“[Those] two teams are fighting for their own playoff lives so it will be tough games,” said the Ginebra mentor.
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