BARANGAY Ginebra hopes to make it three wins in a row when it takes on unpredictable Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Buoyed by their back-to-back victories over Meralco (99-91) and erstwhile unbeaten Bay Area (111-93), the Gin Kings set out as the favorites over the Fuel Masters in the 5:45 p.m. encounter.

The solid, all-around performance of old reliable import Justin Brownlee and the notable showings of new additions Jamie Malonzo and Jeremiah Gray are enough reasons for Ginebra coach Tim Cone to feel good.

“Jamie and Jeremiah have a lot of athleticism to what we do and I think they’re gonna be real fun for games as we go forward,” Cone told sportsswriters after the game against Bay Area.

“They’re still learning about us, they’re still learning about their teammates, they’re still learning about them so we expect them to get better. This is kind of a glimpse of how we can be if we’re on top of our game. We were certainly at the top of our game (against Bay Area),”added Cone.

Waiting for the Kings and Cone on the other side of the floor are the Fuel Masters and coach Topex Robinson, who are fresh from a morale-boosting 111-97win over over the NLEX Road Warriors last Saturday.

Import Kaleb Wesson had a double-double of 22 points and 21 rebounds as Phoenix snapped a three-game losing skein to finally barge into the win column.

“We just focused on what we could control as a team. The outside noise, there’s nothing we could do about it. So as professionals, we owed it to ourselves and our families to do our job,” said Tyler Tio, who finished with 26 points, including five three-pointers, for Phoenix.

In the 3 p.m. curtainraiser, Blackwater (2-3) and Terrafirma (0-4) gun for a much-needed victory when they square off.

The Bossing are looking for a bounce-back victory following a heartbreaking 83-87 setback to NorthPort that dropped it under .500 for the conference.

The Dyip, on the other hand, are hoping to avoid their fourth setback in as many games in the tournament and 20th straight since last season.

Late Wednesday, Nick Rakocevic sizzled with 36 points and 15 rebounds to power Magnolia to a 111 -97 win over NLEX.

The Hotshots booked their foutth win in as many outings.

The Road Warriors, on the other hand, suffered their second straight loss after a 2-0 conference start.

The scores:

Magnolia 111 – Rakocevic 36, Jalalon 18, Barroca 16, Lee 9, Dionisio 8, Corpuz 8, Ahanmisi 4, Reavis 3, Abueva 3, Wong 2, Zaldivar 2, Laput 2, Mendoza 0, Escoto 0.
NLEX 97 – Alas 16, Chua 16, Clark 15, Ganuelas-Rosser 15, Trollano 12, Nieto 7, Fonacier 6, Ighalo 6, Varilla 3, Miranda 1, Celda 0.
Quarterscores: 34-23, 58-48, 86-65, 111-97.

Games Friday:

(Smart Araneta Coliseum:
3 p.m. — Blackwater vs Terrafirma
5:45 p.m. — Phoenix vs Ginebra