Beermen, Gin Kings in titanic matchup

MANILA, Philippines —  Ranged against a Ginebra side that has just showcased its might against heavyweight Magnolia, San Miguel Beer coach Jorge Gallent demands nothing but the very best effort from his unbeaten troops.

“Ginebra is one of the strongest teams here so we have to be prepared, we have to be consistent and give our 48 minutes of energy for us to have a chance to beat them,” Gallent said ahead of the titanic PBA Philippine Cup matchup today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The defending champion Beermen stake their spotless 3-0 record and grip on pole position in the 7:30 p.m. tussle with Ginebra (3-1), which follows the opener between NorthPort (3-1) and TNT (2-2) at 4:30 p.m.

The Gin Kings enter the Big Dome with the momentum of their 87-77 dispatching of the Hotshots in their Easter “Clasico.”

“That’s going to give us a lift more than anything else going into the San Miguel game,” said Ginebra mentor Tim Cone.

“Right now San Miguel is playing at a level they don’t look like they’re beatable. But we’ll see what we can do.”

The importance of this tussle in the overall scheme of things and the race for the Top 2 and twice-to-beat advantage isn’t lost on Cone.

“You’re always battling for that Top 2 so this is a big game in terms of Top 2 positioning (down the road). We know San Miguel is probably going to get one of those Top 2 positions and Magnolia’s probably going to get the second so beating Magnolia was really important to give us a shot at the Top 2,” said Cone.