Barangay Ginebra came into the PBA Philippine Cup bubble with a couple of standouts either out of shape or coming off health problems. They somehow got off to a great start, ran into a bad patch and a controversial loss to a sister team, before correcting its course to nail the No. 1 spot.
TNT, meanwhile, was a team eager to rev its engine after assembling a roster whose starting unit was composed of national team standouts after trading for defensive big man Poy Erram and re-signing two-way guard Ray Parks Jr. The Tropang Giga were all primed to flex their new roster even before the league even imagined staging its centerpiece tournament in a self-contained environment.
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Keep on reading: Barangay Ginebra, TNT kick off battle many predicted they would fight—and both teams will be going after more than just a trophy