BEATEN SOUNDLY by reigning three-time Philippine Cup champions San Miguel Beermen, the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings got back on the winning mode by holding off Rain or Shine Saturday night to wrest solo lead in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
The Gin Kings saw their seven-game winning streak snapped by the Beermen a few days ago and multi-titled coach Tim Cone believes the loss was a wake up call for his troops, who came out prepared against the Elasto Painters.
“After the beat down that SMB gave us, needless to say, this is an important bounce back win for us,” Mr. Cone told BusinessWorld. “It was a wake-up call for us. We really need to reestablish our discipline towards our defense and the tempo in which we play. We lost that against SMB and we recovered it in time against Rain or Shine.”
But despite the win, Mr. Cone wasn’t satisfied, saying his team has a lot more room to improve and it showed in their game against the Elasto Painters.
“It was a grind trying to get that win. Rain or Shine made us grind it out. We were happy about first half play, but every time we came up with a big lead they made big shots, made big stop. We just couldn’t break away,” said Mr. Cone.
For Mr. Cone, Ginebra’s level of game went down even before their much-awaited match against the Beermen.
“I think we were not playing the kind of game that we played. Even our game against Blackwater, I felt our level of play went down,” said Mr. Cone.
“We’re not getting the same ball movement, the same open looks. I think we’re not as good defensively like we were three games ago. But it’s hard to sustain your habits through a long winning streak. It’s a natural reaction that you’ll relax a little bit. It’s human nature. We’re battling our human nature right now. So, we’re not playing our best level now, but we have somewhere to go.”
Now on top of the standings with an 8-2 win-loss record, Cone and his wards cannot sit on comfortably. While they’re keeping the top spot, he reiterated that it’s not the team’s goal, but just to crack the top four.
“The no. 1 seed is not our goal. Top four is our goal. If we make it to no. 1, that’s great, but that’s not our goal. Our goal is really the top four and hopefully by the time, we will be in peak form,” added Mr. Cone. — Rey Joble
