MANILA — Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the San Miguel Beermen are set to take part in a PBA playoffs series yet again.

• Three SMC teams, Phoenix seek to draw first blood in PBA semis
• No brotherly love in semis clash between Ginebra and San Miguel, says Cone

Over the past seven seasons not including this one, the San Miguel Corporation-owned squads have faced each other seven times in the playoffs, with those matchups spanning across all of its three rounds.

The Gin Kings have had the upper hand over the Beermen, with Ginebra tallying five series wins against SMB, one of which came in the 2018 Commissioner's Cup finals. But San Miguel’s victories all came in the championship rounds, both of which came from the Philippine Cup (2016-17, 2017-18).

The Gin Kings were then led by Justin Brownlee, and present stars and veterans Scottie Thompson, LA Tenorio, and Japeth Aguilar. Also aiding them were ‘The Fast the Furious’ duo of Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterbrand.

Meanwhile, SMB leaned on arguably the greatest Filipino basketball player of all time, June Mar Fajardo, and the rest of the Beermen’s ‘Death Five’ which was composed of Arwind Santos, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Ross, and Alex Cabagnot.

• PBA: SMB trades Alex Cabagnot to Terrafirma for Simon Enciso

Now that the two PBA behemoth teams will clash in another semis bout that will commence tonight at the Araneta Coliseum, one of the members of SMB’s famed quintet gave his take on the matchup, especially since he was still with San Miguel in six of their past seven playoff clashes against Ginebra.

In My humble opinion. The games i played against Ginebra, it was Never scripted Or plannned out. May the Best Team win and the Best Team usually wins https://t.co/NE6LdBsqq2

— alex cabagnot (@askcabaggie) January 24, 2024

“In my humble opinion, the games I played against Ginebra, it was never scripted or planned out,” penned ‘The Crunch Man’ who won nine PBA titles in his career.

• PBA: SMB coach Austria saddened by Cabagnot, Santos trades

Cabagnot’s statement was in response to a post that also bore a similar message, and the one-time PBA Finals MVP then continued to give Ginebra and San Miguel his parting message.

• Alex Cabagnot heads to Korea, signs with Goyang Sono

“May the best team win, and the best team usually wins.”

• Ginebra cruises past NorthPort, sets up semis duel with SMB

En route to the semis, the No. 2 seed SMB squad eliminated Rain or Shine and the No. 3 seed Ginebra ousted NorthPort, with both teams taking advantage of their twice-to-win incentives.

• Cruz, Boatwright lead SMB vs. ROS to semis ticket

In their past semifinals face-off, however, it was Tim Cone’s squad who came out on top after they swept the Beermen, 3-0, in the 2022-2023 PBA Governor’s Cup.

Tonight, a new chapter of the two storied franchises will unfold, but it will now be headed by new blood alongside some familiar names from both teams.

Game time is at 8 p.m. at the Big Dome.