Basketball
McCullough sees TNT-Ginebra PBA Finals as a series for the ages
He may be the odd man out in a group that knows one another like a book, but Chris McCullough already projects that the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup Finals between TNT and Ginebra will be talked about for a long while.
“I think this is truly gonna be one of the PBA Finals that’s gonna be remembered for a long time,” offered the former San Miguel Beer import during the pre-Finals press conference at the Novotel Manila Araneta City in Cubao.
It’s quite an interesting take for somebody who’s making his first appearance in this age-old rivalry, but the 31-year-old sure knows a thing or two about the squads battling for gold for the fourth time in the last eight conferences.
His new team, TNT, for one, was the very same franchise he and the Beermen beat on the way to ruling the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup, and so he knew their quality way before joining them as Bol Bol’s replacement.
And definitely, he’s grown even more familiar with the way they do things, now that he has played three games with the Tropang 5G–games that were crucial as they led to their ouster of sister team Meralco in the semifinals.
Then there’s the Barangay. He’s never fought against the crowd darlings before, but the Syracuse product has been aware of their legend, more so about their NSD spirit, which was on display against Rain or Shine in the Final Four.
Add to that his familiarity with Justin Brownlee, who turns out to be someone he’s known for so long, when they were still making names for themselves.
“Great team, we’re going up against a great player. This is going to be one of the ones that’s gonna be remembered,” McCullough said.
The former NBA pro’s presence serves as one of the many layers to yet another Finals meeting between two proud ball clubs, and it would be truly interesting to see how he’d affect the entire best-of-7 affair that begins later tonight.
And it opens at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, the very same venue where ‘C-Mac’ won his maiden PBA championship and also where TNT and Ginebra played the classic Game 7 of the Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup Finals.
(C) PBA Images
Game 1 of the Finals is set later at 7:30 p.m., and according to the Casino Plus sportsbook, Ginebra is favored to win, with the handicap set at -3.
Wagers can be placed here: https://www.casinoplus.com.ph/home/inGame?name=basketball&title=SportBet.
The Tropa, as we all know, won that bout, 87-83, and history is actually in their favor as it marked the third straight time that they beat the Kings in the Finals, with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson serving as the lynchpin of those triumphs.
But the 3-time Best Import is out due to an Achilles injury, making McCullough among the centers of attention in this highly anticipated rematch.
“It’s a very different series this time,” head coach Chot Reyes reflected. “First of all, we have a different team because of the import that we have. The key, I think, is our ability to continuously adjust and adapt to Ginebra’s game.”
“And for me personally, my only objective is to be able to play at a high level. Because that’s the only way we can compete,” he added.
However, it won’t just be about who’s the better reinforcement, as the local stars are just as important, with TNT leaning on Roger Pogoy, Calvin Oftana, and Jordan Heading, who has regained his touch in the latter part of the semis.
Then of course, there’s the ageless Kelly Williams and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, both of whom have been sharing frontcourt duties.
Over at the Kings, there’s RJ Abarrientos, who’s the presumptive Best Player of the Conference, especially after a sterling series against the Elasto Painters, capped by back-to-back 30-point showings to close out their foes.
There’s also Scottie Thompson, who’s back to his ‘superstar role player’ mode now that he’s gotten more comfortable with Abarrientos as a running mate–a role previously assumed by future Hall of Famer LA Tenorio.
“It’s not fun being the second-place team,” offered Coach Tim Cone, who’s looking to grow his record collection of league championships to 26. “Both teams are deserving to be here. One’s going to come out on top.”
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NLEX took the solo lead in Group A following a convincing 110-96 victory over the erstwhile perfect San Miguel to extend its unbeaten run to four in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup on Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
In a game where they showed a bit of everything, the Road Warriors went on a tear in the second chapter, inflated the lead to its biggest at 25 in the third, and then displayed solid poise in the defining chapter to put the Beermen away.
Robert Bolick connected on a four, then came Robbie Herndon with a triple not long after as that 7-0 spurt pushed their lead back to 99-84 with 6:23 to go, and that proved to be enough to restore order after their foes cut the gap to eight.
DeQuan Jones took over afterward to lead the strong closeout as they went on to become the lone team without a loss thus far as the Beermen fell to 3-1.
In what’s becoming a trend since Coach Jimmy Alapag arrived, NLEX leaned on another balanced attack that saw a five finish in double figures
Jones himself led the way with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Deschon Winston finished with 24 points, four rebounds, and four assists as he triggered the 14-0 run in the second chapter for a 44-27 lead that set the tone for the rout.
Tony Semerad had 15 points as his long bombs helped put together the solid finish. Bolick came just short of a triple-double with 14 points, nine rebounds, and 12 assists while Herndon added 13 markers to lead the bench mob.
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Joseph Yeo and Chris Tiu rekindled their legendary partnership as Xavier School edged the James Yap-led Hua Siong College-Iloilo, 75-72, in Game 1 of the 40 Years Division finals of the Fil-Chinese Athletic Association Inc. on Friday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Though no longer as quick or explosive as they were in their prime, the Powersox-AcroCity-backed Xavier stars remained deadly from beyond the arc, delivering clutch baskets down the stretch to topple the defending champions in the opener of their best-of-three title series before a sizable crowd.
The Golden Stallions now stand one win away from the championship and a measure of revenge after falling to Hua Siong in last year’s finals. They can seal the title with another victory on Monday.
Yeo turned back the clock with a game-high 30 points, highlighted by four three-pointers, to outduel fellow PBA great James Yap. He scored Xavier’s final seven points, including a crucial triple that stretched the lead to 71-66 late in the contest.
Yap answered with 18 points, knocking down two booming three-pointers, but his efforts were not enough as the Lamtex Pipes-backed Hua Siong absorbed its first loss after sweeping all eight elimination-round games. Hua Siong had also cruised past GT Radial-Grace Christian College, 108-74, in the semifinals.
Tiu also played a key role in the victory, finishing with 17 points while sinking two of Xavier’s 13 three-pointers. Hua Siong, meanwhile, connected on nine triples.
In the battle for third place, Grace Christian College rolled past SCAG-St. Stephen’s, 60-40, behind Allan Anson Tan’s 20-point performance to finish third in the nine-team tournament.
With Yap struggling to find his rhythm late, Ken Bono tried to keep Hua Siong within striking distance, but Xavier would not be denied.
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Ramon Cao asserted himself in the endgame to help Macau complete a 132-126 comeback win over Titan Ultra to break through in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup, Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The reliable big man finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds as he basically took it upon himself to bring the Giant Risers home after seeing themselves staring at a 120-119 deficit with 1:52 remaining.
He scored seven straight to give themselves the 126-120 lead with 31.1 seconds left, which were enough to put them ahead permanently while the opposition could only try to answer back but to no avail
De’Vondre Perry helped him out to keep their foes at bay before Cao applied the final blow with a cleanup from point-blank as the former Bay Area Dragons forward produced 11 of Macau’s last 13 points of the bout.
With this, the guest team improved to 1-4 while sending Titan crashing back to earth after beating TNT previously.
The post PBA: Ramon Cao powers Macau’s stunning comeback to first win at Titan’s expense appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
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