Ginebra big man Christian Standhardinger.–PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—After an up-and-down start to its PBA Philippine Cup campaign, Ginebra has been on some kind of a roll to find itself on track to reaching one of its goals which is to finish in the top two at the end of the elimination round.
Following an 87-83 escape of rival TNT on Saturday, the Gin Kings got a shot in the arm in the twice-to-beat race when Phoenix pulled the rug from under NLEX, 112-77, on Sunday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The Fuel Masters’ upset win had the Road Warriors slipping from second to fourth in the standings at 5-3 while the Gin Kings improved to No. 2 at 6-3.
SCHEDULE: 2024 PBA Philippine Cup
“We have to try and get towards [one of] the top two spots now and put ourselves in a position where we’ll have the best odds to get to the quarters or semis and we just have to really take care of business now,” said Ginebra big man Christian Standhardinger after notching 20 points and 15 rebounds on Saturday.
“I’m sure this [win] was a big learning lesson today and I just hope that we can learn from victories and not losses.”
Standhardinger, however, knows Ginebra can’t be complacent amid its three-game winning run.
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“I remember in the conferences where we won championships, we were very smart. We played very strategic. Obviously, every time a new team comes together and we get some new important pieces we need to find that identity again.”
Ginebra has a golden opportunity to boost its twice-to-beat bid Saturday next week against winless Converge in Cagayan de Oro City.
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