Preview: Alaska tackles Ginebra

Enzo Flojo

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

MARQUEE MATCHUP. Tenorio goes up against Casio. Photo by PBA Images/Nuki Sabio.

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings (1-2) vs Alaska Aces (1-1)

Game time: 6:30pm

Why Ginebra will win: That loss to Barako Bull should have served as a huge wake up call for the Kings, and I think they will be raring to prove themselves against Alaska. Mark Caguioa, for one, would definitely like to shoot much better. He’s been shooting under 35% from the field so far, and against Barako Bull he shot just 3/13. That’s just too many bricks for the Spark.

Why Alaska will win: Calvin Abueva is bound to break out and it’s likely he will do it against the consensus most popular PBA team. Abueva is the type of player who relishes playing in front of a raucous crowd, and that’s exactly what will be waiting for him tonight. The Beast has scored just 11 points in 2 games this conference, but I am willing to wager he’ll score at least that many when faced with the Kings in this game.

Key Match-ups:

LA Tenorio vs JV Casio

Tenorio had his backside handed to him by the unheralded Emman Monfort this past Friday, and he would love to bounce back against Alaska’s very own young up-and-coming point guard, JV Casio. Aside from the Ateneo-La Salle undercurrent in this match-up, one other interesting angle here is that some people felt Casio should have been in the Gilas roster instead of Tenorio. For a lot of hoop nuts, Tenorio has reached his peak, while Casio is just on the rise. That just adds even more fuel to the fire here.

X-Factor:

Mac Baracael

With Japeth Aguilar out for more than a month, the onus will be on Mac Baracael to step up. Ginebra will need every bit of Baracael’s athleticism and shooting against an Alaska frontline that boasts of bruisers like Sonny Thoss and Gabby Espinas. If the former FEU Tamaraw can stroke it from mid to long range and grab more than his share of rebounds, then the Kings will be in a great position to win.

What this game means: Alaska looks to build on its win over Rain or Shine and move higher in the standings, while the Kings want to bounce back after the Barako loss and keep their heads above water. – Rappler.com

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