The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is scheduled for a Quarterfinals round game 1 against the NorthPort Batang Pier at 5:45 PM on December 7, 2022 live from the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City, Metro Manila.
Note: Livestream starts at 5:45 PM, refresh this page to watch the live game at the mentioned game time.
The Gin Kings are looking to make a repeat here in the playoffs after dumping Batang Pier, 122-105 in the elimination round. Yet, NorthPort wanted to make a statement that their early defeat won’t dictate the outcome of the entire series.
Prior to the start of this year’s second conference, Ginebra shipped one of its bright young talents who many considered as one of the steals in the 2019 PBA Draft and that’s Arvin Tolentino. Many have noticed that the former 10th pick was unhappy with the trade which brought Jamie Malonzo to team “NSD”.
This could be the time for him to step up his game and prove to his previous mother team that they made a mistake. Apart from Tolentino, Jeff Chan and Prince Caperal were part of that exchange players deal, they too are expected to turn their performance higher.
Ginebra head coach Tim Cone is aware of this type of player mentality and most likely they got a plan on how to cool them down.
“That’s natural for a player to be motivated playing against your former team. And we have eight former players on that team. They know well what we’re doing,” said Cone.
In their lone match-up in the elimination round, the Gin Kings crushed the Batang Pier, 122-105. Ginebra was in control for the most part of the game and piled up a lead of as high as 19 points.
Malonzo, the ex-NorthPort player made his first strike against his former team where he made 26 points, second to Justin Brownlee who made 31 points and 13 rebounds.
“They’re a talented team. They are a tough matchup particularly for us because we like to play big and they like to play small and quick,” said Cone. “We had a tough time against them the last game,” Cone added.