KINGS, BOLTS RENEW RIVALRY

Barangay Ginebra and Meralco are gathering forces and sharpening their weapons with their eighth postseason battle in the last eight seasons on the horizon.

- OLMIN LEYBA

The second-seeded and twice-beat Gin Kings and the No. 3 Bolts have lined themselves up for this PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinals by making short work of No. 7 Magnolia (99-77) and No. 6 NLEX (via 2-0 series sweep).

"It's always tough and hard when we face Ginebra. They're well-coached, they got depth and then they added some guys like (Ralph) Cu who are really great role players," Meralco coach Luigi Trillo said of their old playoff rivals. "We know we're going to get our hands full but we're looking forward to it." Ginebra counterpart Tim Cone is equally wary of the Bolts, who handed them a 73-91 beating in their elims meeting last March 15.