Barangay Ginebra and Meralco clash in a pivotal Game Three showdown Wednesday, with the Kings looking to pull away in the series while the Bolts seek to stop their rivals and breathe back life in their title bid.
The Bolts are taking a look at the miracle run by San Miguel Beer in the recent past as they search for an inspiration to fuel a comeback drive from 2-0 down.
But the PBA Governors Cup best-of-seven championship series could well be over if the Kings make it three in a row in Game Three at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Tip off is at 7 p.m.
It would be remembered that the Beermen essayed their epic comeback from 3-0 down against the Alaska Milk Aces with main man June Mar Fajardo inspiring his teammates in his comeback from an injury.
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And the Beermen were the favored team then, in the first place.
For the Bolts, it could be so tough to fall in a 3-0 hole against the powerhouse Ginebra side.
And so it's a virtual do-or-die for the Bolts, and they're expected to throw everything they've got to snap the Kings' hot streak from their semifinal series versus the TNT KaTropa Texters.
But the Kings are not about to lower down their guards.
"They're a tough mental team. They're mentally tough and very hard to crack. I think they still have a lot of punches left to throw at us," said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
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And Cone says the two-day break makes Game Three entirely different from the previous games.
"Game Two was a real trying game because of the out-of-town game that we had 48 hours ago. We didn't get back to Manila until 3 o'clock in the morning. It's really a trying weekend of us and for them as well. It looked like in the end, we had a little bit more than they did," said Cone.
"But now they've got two days to refresh, and I think that extra day in the championship is valuable. It allows us to discontinue playing back-to-back-to-back-to-back. A day means a lot. Monday was big for both teams, and it's bigger for them," Cone added.
Neither is Meralco ready to throw in the towel.
Meralco coach Norman Black, however, said his locals need to dish out their game if they're to have a chance at beating Ginebra.
Allen Durham was his usual prolific self in the first two games but didn't get the needed help from his teammates.
"No question, our locals need to step up a little bit to support Allen (Durham) and make their shots. That's really the problem right now.
Ranidel (de Ocampo) is not making his shots, JD (Jared Dillinger) is not making his treys and so we're not getting the spacing that we need around Allen for us to be successful," Black pointed out.
"I'm sure my players are trying their best, giving their best. But they're not performing right now at a level they performed in the elimination round. I could imagine Ginebra had a lot to do with that," Black added.
