Two months after their PBA Governors’ Cup title clash, TNT and Barangay Ginebra lock horns once again, both pushing their bids for a Top Two finish entering the homestretch of the Commissioner’s Cup elims.
The Tropang Giga are sizzling on a five-game roll while the Gin Kings ride the momentum of an 86-63 walloping of the Blackwater Bossing as they set out for battle at 7:30 p.m. at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
In a tight bunch with at least five other teams, coach Chot Reyes’ troops try to improve their record to 6-2 while coach Tim Cone and his wards seek to improve their record to 7-3.
And they brace for the slam-bang game in a grudge match after Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and his teammates won their first-conference titular face-off in six games.
It’s now 2-0 for TNT versus Ginebra, with the Tropang Giga winning their previous title showdown in the 2023 Governors’ Cup.
Ginebra, however, enters the battle now with a lineup shored up by Jamie Malonzo’s return and Troy Rosario’s addition as a free-agent recruit.
It’s not lost on Reyes the added offensive teeth and defensive muscle the Kings have.
He’s thankful they rolled past the NLEX Road Warriors, 94-87, on Wednesday and gained some momentum ahead of their Ginebra tiff.
The Tropang Giga took a while to get a good run and dispose of the Road Warriors. RHJ once again led the way with 23 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists despite a struggle from the field and from the stripe.
But Reyes said their import must find his range to compete with Justin Brownlee and the rest of the Ginebra gang.
The Kings are coming off a 23-point rout of Blackwater, which was marked by Malonzo’s return from long months of absence.
Malonzo made eight on his first appearance from a calf injury he sustained in April 2024. And the former La Salle hotshot was a key component of Ginebra’s third-quarter pullaway, scoring six in that stretch, including a two-handed dunk that drew cheers and applause from the good-sized Sunday crowd.