“We want a healthy Paul Lee. It’s not a major injury but we hope that the medical staff will do something about that. Eto ‘yung mga gustong laro ni Paul, ‘yung mga games sa elite teams. But ‘yun nga, hindi siya makalaro dahil may nararamdaman din siya. He always supports the players and the coaches and the team. He is there cheering. Hopefully, he can come back. Kung hindi man by Sunday, maybe in our next game. Ang gusto lang namin, makabalik si Paul ng healthy,” said Victolero.

In the first game, Phoenix Super LPG and Rain or Shine go up against each other at 4:30 p.m.

Ginebra is fresh from a 90-85 win over Rain or Shine, but Cone isn’t satisfied yet with the play of the Gins, who had to weather a couple of rallies by the Elastopainters before surviving with the victory.

“We hope we can lift our game and when you play a rival, that’s a natural thing you do. I don’t think records really matter at this point. We start 0-0 and go from there,” said Cone.

The Hotshots, on the other hand, seek to claim a key victory at the close of the week that saw them play three games in five days.

“The records don’t matter when it comes to that kind of rivalry,” said Cone. “Doesn’t matter what team has 0-10, and the other team 10-0 and still it could be a great game because they are going to lift the level of their game.

The Gins go up against the Hotshots at 6:30 p.m. in a Fathers’ Day clash with much importance despite the game being scheduled early in the season.

See Ginebra turns back Rain or Shine comeback to stay undefeated

Ginebra, which holds a 2-0 win-loss record, is looking to forge a tie with San Miguel on top of the standings. GInebra is looking to reclaim the Philippine Cup title after winning it in the 2020 bubble.

Magnolia is struggling going into the match with a 1-3 win-loss record, and another defeat could be a dampener to its quest for a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.

In this rivalry game though, Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone said numbers go out of the window.