Meralco Bolts’ Chris Newsome (left) against Barangay Ginebra’s Stephen Holt (right) in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup. Photo from PBA Images.MANILA — Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the Meralco Bolts are set to enter another chapter in their modern-age rivalry in the PBA.

The two ball clubs will be going up against each other in the Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals which starts next week, and this time, it would be through a short-but-sweet Best-of-3 affair.

The Gin Kings and the Bolts locked in the fourth and fifth seeds, respectively, following their clash last Wednesday which saw the former escape with a 91-87 victory at the Araneta Coliseum.

However, Ginebra head coach Tim Cone is not putting that much into their latest win, especially since both squads preserved their main core for the better part of that contest.

“Meralco, they didn’t play their starters long and they rested their import,” said Cone of the Bolts who have been playing All-Filipino in their last two elimination round assignments, as Akil Mitchell sat out against both Ginebra and also the Magnolia Hotshots on Friday due to back issues.

“Both teams were kinda on the same mindset preparing for the playoffs, so it was a short preview of what the series would be,” he added.

For the Gilas Pilipinas mentor, far from their faceoff last Wednesday, this latest edition of the Ginebra-Meralco matchup will once again push both teams to the limit as they look to advance into the semifinals.

“They’re gonna be well motivated because we knocked them out last conference,” said Cone, whose squad eliminated the then Allen Durham-starred Meralco team through a 3-0 sweep in the Governors’ Cup quarters.

“[Tonight], we played them without their import, and he has a huge impact on their game, so that’s something that we’re gonna account for in this series,” he added.

Since the 2016 Govs’ Cup Finals — the one wherein Justin Brownlee made his championship-sealing, eight-year draught-ending, buzzer-beater against Meralco — this would be the 10th time that both teams will face in a playoff series.

This is why for Cone, having a relatively healthy core, as only absent from them are Jeremiah Gray and Isaac Go, would be of huge help as they rekindle their deep history with a motivated Bolts crew.

“Jamie [Malonzo] is feeling good, Justin is feeling much better, so I think we’re gonna be in good shape going into the playoffs,” Coach Tim said.

The team which advances from this series will be facing the winner between the q’finals bout of the first-seeded NorthPort Batang Pier and the yet-to-be-determined eighth seed.

Magnolia and the NLEX Road Warriors will face on Sunday in a knock-out game for the last playoff spot.