After disposing of Talk n Text in 4 games in their semifinal series, Ginebra is back in the Finals of the 2017 Governor's Cup.
It was still fresh in my mind and of course to all the minds of the barangay that buzzer beating shot of Justin Brownlee in last year's Governor's Cup. With all that cell phone lights illuminating the Smart Araneta Coliseum, everybody watched as Brownlee's 3-pointer went swish to end Ginebra's 8-year title drought. The celebrations on and off the court followed. Who would ever forget that emotional scene when Mark and Jayjay went and hugged Coach Tim? That moment when they were teary eyed while being interviewed.
Ginebra somehow had an axe to grind against Talk n Text who defeated them in the Commissioner's Cup 3-1 as well. And now that loss was avenged after they eliminated the Ka-Tropa.
The road to the Finals was not easy for Ginebra. They ended the eliminations with a 29-point loss to Talk n Text. They finished the eliminations with an 8-3 record and entered the playoffs as the #3 seed with a twice to beat advantage against their Grand Slam seeking sister team San Miguel. Fortunately, Ginebra did not need another game as they easily dispatched SMB thereby ending the team's Grand Slam bid.
Fast forward to the Finals. Meralco is aching to get back at Ginebra for their heartache last year. Reigning Best Import Allen Durham will surely want to finish his "unfinished business" and give the Bolts their first title. Jared Dillinger is also aching to play after he missed last season due to injury.
But if there one thing going for Ginebra-- it would be Greg Slaughter who also missed his team's championship run last year as he was also injured. The Kings would be out to prove that winning the title last year was no fluke.
Coach Tim Cone is the winningest coach in the league and he has had many achievements in the past. He would want to add another title with Ginebra to his trophy collection. Coach Norman Black would not want to be outdone. He himself has several titles in his coaching resume.
So looking forward to this Finals series. Ginebra is looking for back-to-back while the Bolts want to win their first title. Brace yourselves for a tough Best-of-7 series.
