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Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Phoenix Super LPG are poised to deliver the final blow to their foes and stage a title showdown on Wednesday in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center. .
Geneva looks to finally deliver another playoff heartbreak to Meralco at 3:45 pm, while Phoenix attempts to eliminate title contender TNT at 6:30 pm in Game 4 of their respective best-of-five semifinals.
The two teams took a 2-1 lead following their victories in the Smart Clark Giga City bubble last Sunday. The Best of Seven Finals begin on Friday if Geneva and Phoenix close, otherwise a decisive fifth game in either series will take place on the same day.
Stanley Pringle led the way in Geneva’s 91-84 win, while Matthew Wright resisted a sprained ankle to hit clutch baskets in Phoenix’s 92-89 win.
Both candidates for the best player in the bubble are expected to play a prominent role, as Geneva and Phoenix prepare for a stubborn challenge from the two MVP-owned teams.
“The hardest thing to win in the series is the closing game,” Geneva coach Tim Cone said. “I often find Game 4 more difficult to win than Game 5 of a five-game series.
“We understand that and we know it. We will just have to find our way through it. And it’s really about really raising the intensity level of the other team because now they’re desperate. They have to win, ”he added.
Pringle is expected to take that level of intensity a little higher, who frustrated Meralco with 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
A victory will send Geneva to the final for the 27th time in its four-decade history in Asia’s first pay-per-play cycle.
Phoenix is considering its first season in the PBA’s greatest stage, which will be a historic achievement for the young baseball club. Until now, the Fuel Masters hadn’t gotten this far since entering the league in the 2016 Commissioner’s Cup.
Wright, who lost 25 points, including a pair of clutch baskets in the final three minutes, won’t be the only player Phoenix will need to win, as Calvin Abueva and Jason Perkins have been crucial throughout the bubble.
But Phoenix coach Topex Robinson is still not counting TNT despite being in a favorable situation.
“We don’t really focus on finishing it on Wednesday or anything else, we just want to be the best team in (Game 3). We could do better, “said Robinson, who constantly tells his team to be” the best versions of themselves. “
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