Published December 28, 2020, 3:10 PM
The Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings celebrate their championship with the Jun Bernardino Perpetual Trophy at the AUF Arena last Dec. 9. (PBA Images)
The road to the crowning of the PBA Philippine Cup champion looked more of a journey than a destination as the pro league endured rough roads in order to complete the 45th season that was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the first ever, the PBA staged a two-month bubble in Pampanga while reducing the season to only the Philippine Cup which was suspended in mid-March following the lone opening match between San Miguel Beer and Magnolia at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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Published December 17, 2020, 7:43 PM
Gilas Pilipinas project director coach Tab Baldwin has hinted a mixture of PBA players and collegiate standouts as possible roster for the national team in the FIBA Asia Cup Window 3 in February next year in Clark, Pampanga.
Baldwin mentioned this Thursday afternoon in an online press conference that formally launched the partnership of FIBA and Smart Communications for the 2023 World Cup, which the country is co-hosting with Japan and Indonesia.
According to Baldwin, several PBA players will be invited for the training camp starting January, which gives the national team one month to prepare for the Feb. 18 to 21 tournament where the national team meets Indonesia, and plays South Korea twice.
“The positive thing is we made it to the finals,” said the soft-spoken coach, who steered TNT to a second championship series appearance in his second year at the helm.
The Tropang Giga finished the exhausting elimination round as the third seed after posting a 7-4 record and the superior quotient to come out on top of a five-way tie.
However, the injury bug hit TNT in the worst time possible.
Parks, the statistical points frontrunner after the final four, aggravated his left calf strain after the Tropang Giga’s dismal 100-94 overtime loss in Game One where he scored a team-high 20 points.
SunStar Ginebra wins PBA Philippine Cup title
The Barangay Ginebra Kings emerged as champions of the PBA Philippine Cup after they dispatched of TNT in Game 5, 82-78, on Wednesday night. (PBA photo)
+ December 10, 2020 The Barangay Ginebra Kings are rulers of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup after they fended off the resilient TNT Tropang Giga, 82-78, in Game 5 of the best-of-seven series on Wednesday night at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena in Pampanga.
The win gave Ginebra a 4-1 series win to end their 13-year title drought in the all-Filipino tournament. The title was the franchise 13th, putting them into a tie for fourth place with the Crispa franchise. Kings head coach Tim Cone meanwhile, claimed his 23rd championship in the PBA.
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