If Kim Aurin of TNT performs well enough in Game Six of the PBA 49th Governors’ Cup finals on Friday, or even farther, if it ever gets that far, he might become the thorn in Barangay Ginebra’s side.

Ironically, Aurin has the opportunity to win a championship against the team that gave him PBA possibilities in the first place.

Prior to being signed by TNT in the five-a-side league, Aurin played for Barangay Ginebra in the now-defunct PBA 3×3.

Aurin was selected by Barangay Ginebra in the third round of the Season 48 draft at number 34, which opened up the potential of signing him. However, he was left unsigned and became a free agent, meaning he could sign with any team.

Despite some people’s concerns about signing him, TNT team manager Jojo Lastimosa recalled how he was able to see promise in the former Perpetual Help standout in the PBA 3×3.

“I saw Aurin in our games against him one time in the grand finals of 3×3 and I saw something in him that he might be a PBA player so I picked up,” stated Lastimosa, who hired Aurin to a contract while Chot Reyes was still with Gilas Pilipinas and he was in the interim role of head coach.

During the final’s series, Aurin has been a part of TNT’s rotation. In addition to his averages of 1.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists during the finals, Aurin has been making sure to help in other ways, such as stretching the floor and providing an extra defender off the bench, even though his scoring hasn’t been a factor aside from Game 1, where he scored eight points.

“Just how everything transpired for Kim, it’s somewhat inspirational. I was even warned by someone who handled him to be wary of picking him up. Knowing me, I always give the players the benefit of the doubt,” Lastimosa said.

If Aurin can win a PBA championship with TNT in the Governors’ Cup, it would be a fairy tale ending.

On the other hand, Maverick Ahanmisi was arguably the most important player absent from the Gin Kings’ 99-72 loss to TNT in Game 5 last Wednesday, second only to Justin Brownlee, despite averaging 17 points and making some clutch baskets in both of Barangay Ginebra’s victories in the PBA Governors’ Cup finals.

However, he didn’t appear to be a man who missed all seven of his shots and scored just one point in the roughly 26 minutes of activity during the lopsided defeat as he left the Smart Araneta Coliseum dugout.

As he acknowledged that this series is far from done, Ahanmisi instead maintained that positive sense of faith in him while giving the Tropang Giga credit for making the required changes.

The player said, “They made shots, we couldn’t. That’s the story of the game right there,”. “For sure [they’ve prepared for me better]. That’s the story of the series. They beat us two games in a row to begin with. Obviously, we went to watch a film and see what we can do to stop them. We beat them two in a row and they did the same thing now.”

Ginebra looked hopeless in the first two games of the series, therefore the Fil-Nigerian guard’s optimism is definitely justified.

Before Ginebra turned the tide in Games 3 and 4, with Ahanmisi playing a key role in both wins, TNT appeared to have all the answers for the league’s most adored ballclub.

The only difference is that Ginebra will have no room for error this time around. However, Ahanmisi will be motivated by the fact that they have already defeated TNT in back-to-back games when they play a crucial Game 6 this Friday.