Having coached both teams, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel coach Tim Cone said tomorrow’s bubble edition of the famed “Manila Clasico” rivalry between the Gin Kings and Magnolia Ang Pambansang Manok will definitely be a “fun” game.
“It’s really a great and fun rivalry. I know what it’s like since I’ve been to both sides. Not much motivation is needed because it’s automatic already,” Cone said.
Game time is at 6:45 p.m., after the 4 p.m. tussle between Rain or Shine Elastopainters (3-1) and Blackwater Elite (2-3).
The much-hyped matchup always draws big crowds whenever the two teams meet. The rivalry is intense, the crowd as rabid as they can get, especially the Ginebra faithful.
The big difference now, however, is there’s no big crowd, no live audience, no “Sixth Man” that will cheer Ginebra on. Tomorrow, they’re practically on their own, with no big-time cheering squad that usually rattles opponents when they start chanting “Gi-ne-bra! Gi-ne-bra!”
But with the kind of inspired play the team is displaying at the moment, it seems having no crowd cheering them on is no problem at all.
At 4-0, Ginebra is deadset on getting that fifth straight “W” to join idle TNT Tropang Giga at the top, and it seems history is on their side. According to PBA Chief Statistician Fidel Mangonon III, the last time Ginebra started at 4-0, they went on to win the championship. It was the 1986 Open Conference with imports Billy Ray Bates and Michael Hackett reinforcing the team and playing-coach Robert Jaworski inspiring his troops, where they beat Manila Beer in the finals.
For Magnolia Ang Pambansang Manok, currently at 1-4 in the standings, the absence of a live audience that will cheer for their rival may kind of level the playing field. However, Ginebra remains to be a dangerous team with new faces taking charge and providing able backup to the team’s reliable veterans.
(Photo credit: fastbreak.com.ph)