MANILA, Philippines – Although this side of the conflict is a pair of semifinal Sister Act showdowns, it may go by a number of different titles.

Offensive against Defense is what is ringing in our ears.

In a replay of their 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup quarter final encounter, TNT and Meralco square off; this time, the situation is the same: the Tropang Giga will use their offensive firepower to decimate opponents, while the Bolts will prosper thanks to their defensive prowess.

The Tropang Giga, the league’s highest-scoring team averaging 118 points per game, are the top seeds in the playoffs and are riding the wave of a nine-game winning streak as of 5:45 p.m. Friday marks the start of the series at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.

Kelly Williams will likely be out for the entirety of the best-of-five series for TNT, but coach Jojo Lastimosa is confident that his team will still compete effectively against the Bolts and has a decent chance of reaching the championship game against the winner of the Barangay Ginebra-San Miguel Beer series.

Williams, who suffered a calf injury during their victory over the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, is being replaced by Dave Marcelo and the resurrected Poy Erram.

With a strong forward and guard lineup that includes Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, RR Pogoy, Calvin Oftana, Mikee Williams, Jayson Castro, and Glenn Khobuntin, they won’t be short on firepower, in any case.

To have a chance at returning to the Governors’ Cup finals, the Bolts’ coach Norman Black 

They burn a lot of energy at their half of the offensive court. We can run with them.

Black stated that something had to go because Meralco was a defensive-minded club whereas TNT was a scoring team.

The imports provide interest to the series since they work well with their respective teams’ and strategies’ various lineups.

Former NBA teammates KJ McDaniels and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson played together for the Brooklyn Nets. Additionally, their competition is intriguing in and of itself.

The last time the Tropa and the Bolts faced off in the semifinals, McDaniels was oddly with TNT.

KJ is not the kind of guy who gets 45 or 50 points a night, but he will give you 25 to 30.”

Lastimosa, on the other hand, is adamant that he adores their man-to-man encounter and sounds extremely confident that their steamy romp will continue.