Heavy rains and flooding caused by typhoon Henry forced the Philippine Basketball Association to call off Game 2 of the Barangay Ginebra-Rain or Shine Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinal series on Tuesday, which, for sure, Gin Kings coach Tim Cone wouldn’t like.
Cone had talked the past weeks that he would like his wards to be playing as often as they could just to keep riding the momentum they have going since the elimination round.
With an eight-game winning streak and coming off a lopsided victory in the series opener, the Kings were installed as solid picks to take a 2-0 lead and keep the Elasto Painters guessing since the second game was to be played after just a day’s rest.
Instead, Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia will have an extra two more nights to figure things out and try to whip his Painters back to the form that made them top the elimination round.
Meanwhile, defending champion San Miguel Beer goes for a sweep of an over-matched Alaska side Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, with a win – coupled with the cancellation of the other Final Four’s Game 2 – giving the Beermen several days to freshen up for the title series.
The last time Alaska and San Miguel were in a series was in the 2016 Philippine Cup title playoffs, one that will live in infamy as far as the Aces are concerned after they bungled a 3-0 lead to lose in Game 7.
San Miguel effectively put Alaska in the position it was in two seasons ago, with the Aces needing to win the last three games to not only advance to the title series but more importantly slay the ghost of that PH Cup debacle.
Alaska will be trying to stay alive without Calvin Abueva and point guard Chris Banchero, who had to hurry back to the United States because of a family emergency.