Jamie Malonzo (with ball) will give the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings another solid offensive option in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup. —PBA IMAGES
The long-awaited return of Jamie Malonzo could provide a new dynamic for Barangay Ginebra as it looks for the right mix for the rest of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup—and the year—beginning with Sunday’s marquee encounter with San Miguel Beer at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Malonzo was placed on the active roster ahead of the 7:30 p.m. contest but could be playing managed minutes if coach Tim Cone decides to play the athletic forward, who hasn’t seen action since April because of a calf injury.
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READ: PBA: Jamie Malonzo set for Ginebra return ‘soon’
He got hurt after trying to go for an uncontested dunk in the final seconds and the outcome already decided of Ginebra’s victory over NorthPort in the Philippine Cup. During his recovery, Malonzo acknowledged he had been “bulking up to gain more muscle.”
“Everybody’s calling me fat,” Malonzo joked after Ginebra’s thrilling Christmas Day win over Magnolia, as the Gin Kings improved to 4-2 following Scottie Thompson’s buzzer-beater to secure a 95-92 win.
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In that game, Ginebra faced deficits of as large as 22 points, but Cone is looking for a better version of his team after a seesaw campaign in the first half of the eliminations.
READ: Jamie Malonzo overcomes ‘tough’ times en route to career night for Ginebra
Before the Magnolia match, Ginebra wasted a big lead and lost to Converge in an out-of-town affair held in Batangas City.
“I think we learned a lot of things [in the] Converge [game], and even in the first half against [Magnolia],” said Cone. “We got to do a better job on the boards and we got to get more physical. So you know we’re learning as we go along.
Tough outings
“There are times when we are absolutely dominant out there,” he said. “And there are times when we go through these really long stretches where we don’t score and we don’t play very good defense. So we’re trying to smooth that out.”
The Gin Kings have a tough stretch ahead with the league-leading NorthPort Batang Pier to follow the Beermen match on Wednesday at Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Ginebra will be battling a San Miguel team that is also struggling with a 3-3 slate after an overtime loss to Hong Kong Eastern before the break.
San Miguel is still in the process of also finding the right groove with coach Leo Austria set to call the shots for the fourth time since returning from his consultancy role, while also playing with new import Jabari Narcis.
Meeting in the 5 p.m. opener are Eastern and Meralco as action in the midseason conference resumes after an 11-day break.
Eastern tries to break its tie with Converge for third at 6-2 while Meralco seeks to snap out of a two-game skid.
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Meralco dropped to 3-2 after a stinging setback at the hands of Converge on Christmas, with injuries hounding the Bolts’ campaign in both the Commissioner’s Cup and the East Asia Super League.
