MERALCO and TNT set aside their franchise roots when they figure in a decisive encounter for a chance to pocket a twice-to-beat bonus in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup.
Set at 7 p.m. today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, the Bolts and Katropa eye a similar result to their contrasting outings in recent games.
Meralco hopes to extend its winning streak to five to cement its foothold of the second spot with seven wins against two losses.
TNT (6-3), on the other hand, looks to end a two-game skid to strengthen its bid for a top-2 finish, which instantly gives the Katropa a passage for the incentive in the quarterfinals.
Rain or Shine leads the standings with its eight wins in nine games, while Alaska shares second place with Meralco with a 7-2 record.
Head Coach Norman Black knows the danger of facing their sister-team, which is desperately needing a win to end its slump.
“We want to get that twice-to-beat advantage. We still have two more tough games against TNT and Rain or Shine. We’re not there yet, but at least we control our own fate,” Black said. “We have to win. If we don’t win, then we can go down as quickly as we went up.”
Marked by a three-team logjam with Magnolia at 4-5, retooled GlobalPort hopes to see the prize of a recent shake-up in its roster when it battles Columbian Dyip at 4:30 p.m.
The Batang Pier completed another transaction on Thursday when it acquired Gabby Espinas and a second-round pick in the 2020 Rookie Draft from San Miguel Beer.
The trade dealt Kelly Nabong to the Beermen, giving the defending champions added ceiling with its twin-tower combination of June Mar Fajardo and Christian Standhardinger.
Last Tuesday GlobalPort also sent Julian Sargent for Paolo Taha of Barangay Ginebra.