Two powerhouse franchises collide for the crown
The 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup finals get underway on Easter Sunday after a nearly two-week break. And with two perennial powerhouses on a collision course, this series figures to be fun and highly competitive—if not a clash of epic proportions. In fact, these five storylines alone already make these finals a must-watch.
Offense vs defense
It seems almost unfair to box Barangay Ginebra San Miguel as a purely defensive team because the defending champs are much more than that. But they are at their best when the D is clicking. Ginebra needs to be because TNT Tropang Giga, in contrast, is an offensive juggernaut. And with import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, super scorer Mikey Williams, and shooters RR Pogoy and Calvin Oftana, the Tropang Giga pack quite the firepower. Whoever wins this battle is likely to lift the Governors’ Cup trophy.
Old reliable vs confident upstart
Championships in any import-laced conference ultimately hinge on the play of the imports—and this series will have two very good ones in Ginebra’s Justin Brownlee and TNT’s Hollis-Jefferson. The former, obviously, has proven he can elevate his game when the stakes are highest. The latter, on the other hand, is playing in his first PBA finals, so it remains to be seen how he handles the big stage. For the most part, the difference is usually subtle when two super imports collide, but that might be the difference between winning and losing in this series.
Who will stop Mikey?
Williams is the kind of scorer who can carry an entire offense when he gets going. Not a lot of teams have figured him out, except maybe Ginebra, who has managed to at least contain the high-scoring guard. But Williams has been playing some of his best basketball lately, and that puts a lot of pressure on Scottie Thompson and Nards Pinto, who will have the unenviable task of trying to slow down TNT’s shifty combo guard.
Who will stop Scottie?
Speaking of Thompson, he presents a different kind of challenge for the Tropang Giga, who must find a way to put a body on the reigning MVP—at all times. Otherwise, he will fill the stat sheet and make the kind of impact plays that almost always fire up Ginebra and the crowd. But, at this point, it doesn’t appear that TNT has anyone with the motor to stay with Thompson the full 48 minutes.
Wings rising
The wing battle in this series figures to be compelling—the thoroughbreds of Ginebra in Jamie Malonzo and Jeremiah Gray versus the homegrown talents of TNT in Pogoy and Oftana. Malonzo and Gray are young, dynamic, and athletic and only getting better. The two of them are enough to turn a game, or even a series, in favor of Ginebra. Pogoy and Oftana, meanwhile, are proven snipers who are smart and savvy. Pogoy is also one of the better two-way players in the league and Oftana could be a go-to guy like he did with the NLEX Road Warriors.
Catch Game 1 of the finals on April 9, 6:00 p.m.