B-MEG, Rain or Shine dispute finals seat; Ginebra, Talk ‘N Text in do-or-die

AKTV/Paolo Papa

B-MEG and Rain or Shine dispute the first finals seat while Barangay Ginebra and Talk ‘N Text collide in a battle for survival Wednesday in a crucial double-header in the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Co-leaders Llamados and Elasto Painters square off in the opener at 5:15 p.m. with the winner advancing to the best-of-seven championship series.

The Kings and the Tropang Texters meet at 7:30 p.m. with the survivor facing the loser of the first game in a playoff for the second finals seat.

B-MEG and Rain or Shine are locked for the top spot with 9-4 win-loss mark each.

“Yeng Guiao teams are always tough with their backs to the wall so we’re expecting an extremely tough fight,” said Llamados coach Tim Cone.

“It should be a bruising, physical encounter but I think our guys are ready for it,” he added.

As Cone is eyeing a back-to-back finals appearance for the B-MEG franchise, Guiao is looking to bring the Rain or Shine franchise to its first-ever finals stint.

The Elasto Painters, who finished the elims with 8-1 mark, blew a couple of chances of making the trip to the next stage. They are 1-3 in the semis.

In the main game, Talk ‘N Text hopes to continue its finals streak against Ginebra, which finally tasted its first semifinal loss against B-MEG last Sunday after three straight victories.

The Tropang Texters stayed in the race for the four-of-five incentive following their 98-90 win over the Elasto Painters last Monday.

“We’d like to be happy but unfortunately we cannot afford to be happy because there’s gonna be a very, very big game on Wednesday,” said Talk ‘N Text coach Chot Reyes.

Kings coach Siot Tanquingcen said they need to give all their best to stay alive in the season-ending conference.

“We have to win to stay alive,” said Tanquingcen, whose team is coming off a 82-70 loss to the Llamados last Sunday.

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