By Jonas Terrado
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s Japeth Aguilar sees no distinct advantage between his team and Meralco in their third PBA Governors’ Cup Finals duel which starts Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar, right, and Meralco’s Bryan Faundo box each other out during the PBA Governors’ Cup elimination round. Aguilar expects the Finals series will turn out as a ‘grindout’ game. (PBA Images)
“Tingin ko yung series namin is talagang magiging grindout game,” Aguilar said. “Yung matchup talagang magka-cancel out, kung baga it all boils down to who’s gonna be the better team.”
Aguilar and the Kings are eyeing to beat the Bolts for the third time in as many championship duels, but are expecting their rivals to be as hungry as before.
He also believes that Meralco is a carbon-copy of Ginebra with its knack to make everyone involved.
“Being here with coach Tim (Cone), ano talaga very team-oriented kami and yun din ang strength ng kabilang team. Kailangan lang talaga maging handa against them,” he said.
The athletic big man and teammate Greg Slaughter will be tasked to battle Meralco center Raymond Almazan, who is expected to give Ginebra trouble in the paint.
Aguilar said that Almazan has put into action the optimism he expressed during their time with Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA World Cup in China.
“Natatandaan ko pa sa kanya noon na lagi niyang sinasabi sa amin na grabe daw talaga paghahanda nila, even before the Governors’ Cup and magiging maganda yung conference nila,” said Aguilar.
“Tapos yun nga, lumabas naman so I feel like talagang na-incorporate ni Raymond yung system ni coach Norman (Black). Tapos, madami siyang na-fill na wala sa Meralco dati kaya lalo silang magiging formidable team dahil sa kanya,” he added.
Source: Manila Bulletin
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