Photo from PBA

Unbeaten Meralco shoots for a fourth straight win when it battles Barangay Ginebra San Miguel to cap off a pre-Valentine’s Day doubleheader Sunday, Feb. 13 in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Bolts meet the Gin Kings at 6:45 p.m. as they try to continue their hot start anchored by import Tony Bishop, who has been more than a nice fit for coach Norman Black’s squad.

Bishop, tapped by Meralco with resident import Allen Durham in Japan and ex-NBA player Shabazz Muhammad opting to back out before the start of the conference, is averaging a league-best 32.0 points, 14.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks.

He is coming off a 32-point, 13-rebound, eight-assist output in a 110-100 win over NLEX two days earlier as the Bolts won despite opting to sit out new addition Chris Banchero.

Banchero, who left Phoenix Super LPG to a sign as an unrestricted free agent, only joined Meralco’s practice last Thursday but Black is expect to finally insert the two-way guard in the marquee showdown with Ginebra.

Ginebra tries to get back to winning ways after being battered by Magnolia Pambansang Manok for its first defeat following a 3-0 start in the season-ending conference.

A subplot into the match pitting the teams that met in the finals of the last Governors’ Cup in 2019 is John Pinto, who left Meralco early last month to become an unrestricted free agent before eventually joining Ginebra.

TNT looks to bounce against Phoenix at 4 p.m. after a 96-93 defeat to Magnolia last Friday.

The Tropang Giga, playing the second of a four-game, seven-day schedule, fell to 2-3 this conference as their comeback from 19 points down went to waste.

But TNT is dealing with injuries to key players as RR Pogoy sat out the match due to a strained calf while Poy Erram left Friday’s contest after hurting his lower back.

Phoenix parades new import Dominique Sutton, who played for Air21 in 2014 and GlobalPort in 2016, in lieu of the injured Paul Harris.

The Fuel Masters, carrying a 3-2 record, also begin life minus Banchero with Matthew Wright looking to step up on the offensive side of the ball.


Source: Manila Bulletin (https://mb.com.ph/2022/02/12/meralco-stakes-unbeaten-run-vs-ginebra/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=meralco-stakes-unbeaten-run-vs-ginebra)