Who wants it more?

BARANGAY Ginebra and TNT start their quest for the championship when they clash in Game 1 of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup best-of-seven title series on Friday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Tip off is at 7:30 p.m.

The Gin Kings reached the finals after vanquishing top seed NorthPort Batang Pier, 4-1, in the semifinal series.

TNT also secured the same 4-1 result against Rain or Shine, but not after losing veteran point guard Jayson Castro to a season-ending knee injury.

Manpower-wise, the Tropang Giga looked like the underdogs, since the team of coach Chot Reyes will be facing a Ginebra squad that upgraded its roster at the start of the conference with the addition of Troy Rosario, a former TNT player the Gin Kings acquired from free agency.

Aside from that, Jamie Malonzo and Jeremiah Gray are also back in harness after recovering from their respective injuries.

TNT veteran gunner Roger Pogoy said former coach and current team manager Jojo Lastimosa told the players that beating Ginebra in this title series will require a gargantuan effort.

"Coach Jolas always tells us that if we play the way we played against Ginebra in the last conference, we won't win (this series). We need to make a bet-ter effort from that (conference) for us to have a chance to win," Pogoy said in Filipino.

Meanwhile, Ginebra sophomore guard Stephen Holt said the Gin Kings enter the finals with great confidence.

"Obviously, we're very confident. We like our chances and this is why we compete. Two great teams, two great coaches and a lot of great players. So, let's just roll the dice and see what happens," said Holt, the top rookie pick in the 2023 PBA Draft.

Ginebra has an added motivation entering the Finals, having lost to TNT last November, 4-2, in the Governors' Cup title series.

Holt said reaching the championship round once more is something he won't take for granted.

"It's a big blessing: Two conferences, two finals appearances, definitely won't take these moments for granted. It's all due to our hard work individually and as a group, as a team," added Holt, who landed with Ginebra after being traded by Terrafirma before Season 49 started.

An interesting subplot of course, involves TNT import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Ginebra's resident reinforcement Justin Brownlee.

Hollis-Jefferson, who played for the Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, and Portland Trailblazers in the NBA, boasts of solid conference averages of 28.1 points, 12.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.8 blocks, making him a cinch at winning a third Best Import award.

On the other hand, Brownlee, now 36, is coming off a semis series where his playing minutes were managed given the blowout victories Ginebra posted against NorthPort.

The do-it-all Ginebra import averaged 18.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 6.0 assists in the semifinals, and will be eager to finally end his 0-2 finals head-to-head versus Hollis-Jefferson this time around.