Jamie Malonzo (with ball) will give the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings another solid offensive option in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup. —PBA images
Jamie Malonzo’s long-awaited return sets the tone for the rest of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup and the rest of the year, starting with Sunday’s big game against San Miguel Beer at Smart Araneta Coliseum. It has the potential to bring a new dynamic to Barangay Ginebra as it seeks to
Malonso was on the active roster ahead of the 7:30 p.m. contest, but if coach Tim Cone decides to play the athletic forward, who hasn’t appeared in a game since April due to a calf injury, , with the possibility of playing in controlled time.
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Read: PBA: Jamie Malonzo plans to return to Ginebra ‘soon’
He was injured attempting an uncontested dunk in the final seconds, and the result was already decided for Ginebra’s victory over Northport in the Philippine Cup. During his recovery, Malonzo admitted he was “bulking up to gain muscle.”
“Everyone’s calling me fat,” Malonzo joked after Ginebra’s thrilling victory over Magnolia on Christmas Day, and Scottie Thompson’s buzzer-beater gave the Gin Kings four wins. They lost two and won 95-92.
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Ginebra lost by as many as 22 points in that game, but after a see-saw first half, Cone is looking for a better version of his team.
READ: Jamie Malonzo overcomes ‘tough’ period on way to Ginebra career night
Before the game against Magnolia, Ginebra squandered a large lead in a suburban game played in Batangas City, losing to Converge.
“I think we learned a lot [in the] converge [game]and also in the first half [Magnolia]” Cohn said. “We’ve got to do a better job on the boards, we’ve got to be more physical, so you can see we’re learning as we go.
a difficult outing
“There are times when we have an absolute advantage,” he said. “And sometimes when you have really long games, you don’t score or your defense doesn’t play well. So we’re trying to smooth that out.”
The Gin Kings will play against the Beermen on Wednesday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City, followed by a tough battle against league leader Northport Batang Pier.
Ginebra will play a San Miguel team that also lost in overtime to Hong Kong Eastern before the suspension and is struggling with a 3-3 record.
San Miguel is still finding the right form, with coach Leo Austria set to play his fourth game since returning from a consultant role, and also expected to play with new signing Jabari Narcisse.
The midseason conference resumes after an 11-day break, with Eastern facing Meralco in the opening game at 5 p.m.
Eastern will be looking to break a tie for third place with Converge with a 6-2 record, while Meralco will be looking to break out of a two-game slump.
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Meralco suffered a heartbreaking setback to Converge on Christmas, falling to 3 wins and 2 losses as injuries plagued the Bolts’ squad in both the Commissioner’s Cup and the East Asian Super League.
