SA ikatlong pagkakataon na maghaharap sila ng Barangay Ginebra sa Finals, naniniwala si Meralco import Allen Durham na may mas malaki silang tsansa ngayon dahil tingin nya ay mas maganda ang match-up nila ng Gin Kings .
Katunayan, nananabik na ang Bolts sa pagsisimula ng best-of-7 championship series sa Enero 8.
“I think they’re a better match-up for us compared to TNT. They got shooters all over, and now I think we’ll be able to use [Raymond] Almazan a little bit more because they’re a bigger team. I think we match up pretty good. I’m excited,” ani Durham.
Kabilang na sa nasabing match-up ang tapatan nilang muli ni Ginebra import Justine Brownlee.
“It’s going to be fun,” anang dating 2-time Best Import.
“As a competitor you always want to play against the best. He’s showed that he’s one of the best imports in the PBA year after year. It’s definitely going to be a battle.”
Matapos kapwa nabigong umusad sa finals noong nakaraang 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup kapwa nakabalik ang Bolts at Kings sa Finals ngayong 2019 upang magtuos sa ikatlong pagkakataon kasunod ng tapatan nila noong 2016 at 2017, ang una matapos talunin ang TNT at ang huli makaraang manaig laban sa Northport sa semifinals.
Ganito rin halos ang paniniwala ni coach Norman Black dahil na rin sa pagdating sa Bolts nina Almazan, Allein Maliksi at ng rookie na si Bong Quinto.
“Almazan, Maliksi and Quinto have added to our depth compared to when we faced Ginebra in the past. They’ve made us a better team, even though Allein’s still adjusting to the team as he just joined us this conference,” ani Black.
-Marivic Awitan