The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is scheduled for a head-to-head game against the NLEX Road Warriors at 5:45 PM on February 8, 2023 live from the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila.
Note: Livestream starts at 5:45 PM, refresh this page to watch the live game at the mentioned game time.
The Road Warriors will start their journey with a new import while the Gin Kings wanted to send a message to early successful teams in the league that they’re the current defending champion, especially in the third conference.
Without a doubt, NLEX got a stellar run with former San Antonio Spurs Jonathon Simmons. However, that partnership between the import and his PBA team puts to an end as Simmons is leaving to join his Chinese team in the CBA.
“Kinda sad, though, you know. But [there’s] a lot of money on the table, and I’m a family guy,” said Simmons about not being able to finish the conference with NLEX. “It’s more about providing for my family at this point. I’m 33, so I have a short window left to play basketball.”
With Simmons in tow, the Road Warriors won four straight games and are currently still unbeaten. He showed leadership and superb skills when they tangled with Blackwater Bossing, NorthPort Batang Pier, TNT Tropang Giga, and the Phoenix Super LPG Fuelmasters.
This afternoon, the Road Warriors will be parading another NBA veteran in Wayne Selden Jr. He went undrafted during the 2016 NBA Draft but found a home after in New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies, and Chicago Bulls. Selden registered 7.2 points per game in his stint with the big league.
“There were bumps on the road just to get him here but finally, he has arrived. We are hoping that Wayne can sustain the momentum that we have,” said NLEX team manager Larry Fonacier.
The former PBA veteran who is known for his three-point specialty described Selden as a scorer type of player.
“Nakita naman natin how Simms plays. From what I know, si Wayne is a scorer. But with another game on Wednesday against Ginebra, we will give him a crash course on how we run things.”
Ginebra on the other hand finally made their debut and the team welcoming them was the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters last Sunday where they showed to everyone that there’s no championship hangover and they’re all business as they start defending their crown.
Justin Brownlee got his stellar start for the brand-new conference where he dropped a triple-double performance with 29 points, 11 assists, and ten rebounds. Japeth Aguilar also made a strong case as he add 18 points while Scottie Thompson and Jamie Malonzo had 15 and 14 points respectively.