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 Meralco Bolts, Magnolia Hotshots engage in a semis decider todayMatch Here >> 

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PHIILIPPINE STAR/ JUN MENDOZA

To determine the challengers to Gin Kings in Finals

By Olmin Leyba

FOURTH installment of the Barangay Ginebra-Meralco Philippine Basketball Association  (PBA) Governors’ Cup championship rivalry or first “Manila Clasico” Last Dance in 25 years?

Carrying a ton of motivation, semifinal protagonists Meralco and Magnolia engage in a kill-or-be-killed duel tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum to determine who will challenge the Gin Kings for the Season 46 diadem.

“We’re ready, physically and mentally, for Game 5,” Magnolia coach Chito Victolero declared ahead of the 6 p.m. semis rubbermatch.

While the Gin Kings took the first finals seat with a 112-93 clincher of NLEX last Wednesday, the Hotshots threw a wrench into the Bolts’ semifinal closeout plans with a massive 94-73 romp that sent their dispute down to a decider.

“We only tied the series, wala pa kaming na-achieve dito (We achieve nothing yet). So we’re looking forward to the do-or-die this Friday,” said Mr. Victolero.

“They played with a lot more energy than us,” noted Meralco mentor Norman Black as he pointed to Magnolia’s 15-10 edge in offensive rebounds and 57-40 gap overall as perfect illustration of this.

“They dominated the rebounds, they really got a lot of offensive rebounds off of us and that showed the fact they were very aggressive. We’ve been doing a really good job of rebounding in this conference but in Game 4, we got dominated on the boards and that’s something we have to fix before Friday.”