WINS have been phased out for Terrafirma in a campaign that is in tatters, but the Dyip are out to strike hard in their final outing of the season.
But that is easier said than done, especially against defending champion Ginebra.
“After we got blown away by Magnolia, we weren’t so sure where we’re gonna be at this point but guys have responded well and just battled,” Kings coach Tim Cone said after his charges clobbered Converge 120-101 three days ago. “We knew this would be a big game in terms of taking us over the hump and getting to the top 4.
“I think officially we have to get one out of our next two to qualify to the top 4 so we have a game on Wednesday, we wanna make sure to take care of that,” he added.
Ginebra will go into the game set at 5:45 p.m. heavily-favored to prevail and boost its bid in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The curtain-raiser pits a Magnolia five also out to fan its slim top four drive against an eliminated Blackwater side.
The Kings will rely on naturalized Filipino player Justin Brownlee, reigning MVP Scottie Thompson, Christian Standhardinger, Jamie Malonzo, and Jeremiah Gray as they seek to climb to 8-2 for solo second and break a tie with San Miguel Beer.
The hapless Dyip have lost six in a row, counting a 115-121 overtime defeat to the Hotshots last Saturday that dropped them to 2-8.
Terrafirma will pin its hopes on reinforcement Jordan Williams, Juami Tiongson, Eric Camson, Alex Cabagnot, and Andres Cahilig.
“We have a slim chance of getting to the top four, pero we want parang momentum pa rin going to the playoffs. Kaya very important iyong game bukas. Hindi na namin kontrolado iyong mga mangyayari after our game, mga laro noon iba,” Magnolia tactician Chito Victolero said. “Ang kontrolado namin iyong game namin so we take care of our business first and then kung anuman mangyari.
“Basta prepare hard kami for the playoffs. Practice hard, tamang mindset, na ang importante pa rin may opportunity, may chance, kami to go forward.”
Carrying a 6-4 card, the likes of import Antonio Hester, Paul Lee, Calvin Abueva, Jio Jalalon, and Mark Barroca will be counted upon by Magnolia.
With only one triumph in 10 tries that included a 104-110 setback at the hands of NorthPort last Feb. 25, the Bossing will bank on reinforcement Shawn Glover, Baser Amer, JVee Casio, Rey Suerte, Joshua Torralba, and Ato Ular.
