MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings and TNT Tropang Giga will slug it out one last time to determine the champion of the 2024-25 PBA Commissioner’s Cup tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The match is slated at 7:30 p.m. with the Gin Kings aiming for their first PBA championship in over two years, while the Tropang Giga eyeing for their second consecutive title this season.
The Gin Kings failed to close out the Tropang Giga in Game 6 after suffering an 87-83 defeat on Wednesday evening at the same venue, tying the best-of-seven championship series at 3-all.
Cone, who encountered several Game 7s in his illustrious coaching career, admitted that it is tough to prepare for a winner-take-all championship match coming off a loss.
“It’s never just another game. Game 7s are never just another game. It’s tough to prepare for, especially if you’re coming off a loss,” said Cone, a 25-time PBA champion coach. “We have a lot of things to get right in 24 hours so we’ll be ready to play, that’s going to be our challenge,” he added. “We have to figure out what we’re going to do for Game 7.”
Tropang Giga head coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes, for his part, said he is happy that his players gave their best fight in Game 6 to send the series to a Game 7 and gave themselves a chance to win the crown.
“I just told them (prior to Game 6) to go out there, play hard and compete. That’s what we wrote on the board – compete,” said Reyes, a 10-time champion as PBA head coach.
“If we lose, we lose. At least we’re not going down without a fight. Credit to the guys for giving it their all,” the former Gilas Pilipinas national men’s basketball team mentor added.
A victory by the Gin Kings will notch them their 16th PBA championship in franchise history, while the Tropang Giga are eyeing their 11th crown overall./PN
