MANILA, Philippines — “We’ll need to be a lot better than what we were in our last game,” said coach Tim Cone as they shoot for a third straight win against the Elite in their 7 p.m. setto.

“They beat us up in a practice game before the start of the conference. They have talented wing players and have good size starting unit with (6-foot-7 Poy) Erram. They are truly one of the up-and-coming teams. They are building their team the right way,” Cone also said.

The Elite, meanwhile, are raring to come out and go for an upset against the reigning Governors Cup back-to-back champs.

“It would be something special for us if we’ll be the first team to hand Ginebra its first defeat in the conference,” said Blackwater coach Leo Isaac.

After coming up short in their bid against the Meralco Bolts, the Elite bounced back to beat the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 92-87, on Dec. 29.

The E-Painters look to rebound from that loss while the Batang Pier go for a first win in three starts as they clash in the day’s other game at 4:30 p.m.

But focus will surely be on the Gin Kings, who are out to preserve a winning run from their successful Governors Cup title defense.

Cone insists though they have to do a better job.

“We kind of just stole the game,” rued Cone of their 104-97 win over the Batang Pier on Sunday.

“That’s what teams coming from a championship do. They sleepwalk through the first three quarters, just turn on and try to win down the stretch. They feel they can just show up and win. They don’t really play until they really have to,” Cone pointed out.

“I’m disturbed. I think we can do away with that. This is something we have to get better at. We have to fire away right away,” Cone also said.