The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is scheduled for a head-to-head game against the Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters at 6:45 P.M. on May 20, 2018 live from the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Gin Kings are seeking a back-to-back victories in order to improve their current position in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup standings while the Fuel Masters wanted to make a bounce-back game when PBA resumes this evening.
Finally the long awaited giant of Ginebra is back and upon his return a victory was delivered that probably put smiles in the face of coach Tim Cone after Ginebra absorbed back-to-back defeats.
Greg Slaughter immediately does his “GregZilla” ways as he bulldozered the Blackwater Elite in their last outing. Many thought that Slaughter will be given a small amount of playing time but the veteran Ginebra coach thinks otherwise.
He inserted Slaughter in his five lineup and gave him a total of 24 minutes of basketball action that resulted to a 12 points, six rebounds and two assists performance. Not only that, coach Tim Cone even let Joe Devance play despite of the obvious limping which can be seen from his big-man.
But, the player who really performed well on that Blackwater game was Kevin Ferrer. As the Elite’s defense more concentrated in the post, the three-point area went open. The former UST standout took advantage of the situation as he converted five triples and finished the game with 21 points.
Ginebra will use that winning momentum as they face Phoenix later this evening. However, even they’re now look formidable, coach Tim Cone knows his team history each time they played against the Fuel Masters.
“Phoenix has played us very well over the last year, beating us three out of four times. They play us with a lot of pressure to counteract our size and that can create problems,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
“Hopefully, we’ve put some things in to counter what they’ve done in the past which makes us more ready. We need this game to keep pace with the leaders,” Cone added.
For the Fuel Masters on the other hand, coach Louie Alas might be tired of having his team playing like riding in a roller coaster. The veteran coach wanted his troops to play consistently in order to have a steady stream of Ws.