IT’S payback time for big man Raymond Almazan and Meralco as the Bolts face the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings again in the Governors’ Cup Finals of the Philippine Basketball Association starting with Game 1 on Wednesday.
“It’s payback time for Meralco and I am 100 percent okay now, mentally and physically,” said the 6-foot-7 Almazan who suffered a knee injury in Game 3 and never returned in the series that the Gin Kings won, 4-1.
“This is a great chance to get even with Ginebra and Meralco finally winning its first title,” Almazan said.
The Bolts beat the Magnolia Hotshots, 94-81, in a highly physical Game 5 last Friday and the four-day respite allows Almazan and co. to rejuvenate their wary bodies.
“I think we’ll be fine by Wednesday,” said Almazan, stressing he hopes to be healthy the entire series that kicks off at 6 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. “I don’t want to look back to the last time that I got injured,” he said. “What’s important is we’re here again in the Finals playing Ginebra.”
Meralco coach Norman Black said its game on against Ginebra.
“It’s on to Ginebra again. I have never beaten Tim [Cone] before, [in the Finals] maybe this will be the right time to get it done,” Black said. “We’ve been meeting a lot lately and he’s been on the winning end every time.”
Import Tony Bishop tries to end Ginebra’s reign over Meralco as he brings to the Finals his averages of 25.5 points and 13.4 rebounds in 17 games played. Former Best Import Allen Durham was Meralco’s import in that 2019 Finals.
But Bishop will have his hands full with Ginebra’s resident import Justine Brownlee packing mean numbers of 30.3 points, 11.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists also 17 games this season.