Can a Pringle-Equipped Ginebra Beat the Beermen in the All-Filipino Cup?

The trade that sent Stanley Pringle packing his bags to join the crowd darlings, Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings was one of the blockbuster trades of the 44th season of the PBA. And it didn't take long for Ginebra to win a championship with Pringle on board. 

Just a week ago, the Gin Kings nabbed their third Governors' Cup championship in four seasons. And even the now 22-time champion coach himself, Tim Cone admitted that having Stanley Pringle on board was one of the key differences in their 5-game conquest of the Meralco Bolts. In fact, he was one of the reasons why that championship series only lasted 5 games as he averaged 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists in the series. 

In the title-clinching Game 5, Pringle poured 17 points on 7 for 14 field goal shooting, dished out 8 assists, and grabbed 4 rebounds. He was a candidate for the Finals MVP award which eventually went to the high-leaping, Japeth Aguilar.

Now that the Governors' Cup title has been won and the 44th season of the PBA is done, we'll now look forward to the 45th season of the league which will open on March 1, 2020, with the Philippine Cup. The question now is: will Ginebra have enough firepower to dethrone the mighty San Miguel Beermen should they go head-to-head in the Finals?

In terms of manpower, Ginebra has more than to challenge the supremacy of the Beermen in the All-Filipino conference. After all, Greg Slaughter is healthy and playing. LA Tenorio is still looking sharp despite being at the age of 35. Japeth Aguilar is healthy and still dunking. Scottie Thompson is still grabbing those rebounds as if he's a big man. Ginebra now has a Stanley Pringle. And oh, Mark "The Spark" Caguioa is returning for what many believe is his farewell season in the PBA. Manpower isn't going to be much of a problem for the Gin Kings should they ended up facing San Miguel in the finals. It's not even a problem of having enough firepower because we all know that Ginebra has multiple players who can score 30 points in a snap of Coach Tim Cone's fingers. 

It's the question of consistency.  

Why do you think San Miguel was able to win 5 straight All-Filipino championships?

It's because of their consistency on both sides of the court. That and June Mar Fajardo of course. 

However, the Beermen will now gun for their 6th all-Pinoy title in 6 seasons without Christian Standhardinger as they traded the latter to the NorthPort Batang Pier last year. Not only that, Kelly Nabong was traded by the Beermen to the Batang Pier earlier this month in exchange for Russell Escoto which means the Beeermen will have fewer bigs to back up Fajardo and Arwind Santos.

On the other side, many belives that having a Stanley Pringle for Ginebra will be a key factor in the upcoming Philippine Cup. Assuming that he stays healthy and that, their Twin Towers of Slaughter and Aguilar stay healthy at the same time, Ginebra might just be the team that can stop San Miguel from doing what many thought is inevitable.

That if the Gin Kings can stay consistent. 

Photo is from philstar.com