Ginebra head coach Tim Cone. PBA IMAGES
Ginebra coach Tim Cone couldn’t help but feel bad for import Paul Harris, who could possibly be out for the of the 2016 PBA Governors’ Cup.
Harris hyperextended his right thumb and suffered an open fracture after he tried to block Dominique Sutton late in the third quarter. He was rushed to the dugout where team doctor Enrique Pagulayan feared that the severity of his injury would be enough to rule him out of the conference.
“I know how excited he is to be here with his new wife. It seemed like a perfect situation for him and for us. I can’t help but feel sorry for him,” he said after the Gin Kings’ 93-81 conquest over GlobalPort.
READ: PBA: Aguilar, Ellis rescue Ginebra past GlobalPort
With Ginebra’s next game against Alaska more than a week away, Cone and his team need to figure out a plan with or with out Harris in tow.
“We have eight days to see what will happen to Paul and if necessary, get another guy in. I just hope it’s not as bad as everybody says it was and they’re over-exaggerating it.”
But if they do lose the athletic import, who once brought success to Talk N’ Text during his last stint in the league, Cone admitted it would be tough on the Kings.
“We spent a whole month with Paul teaching the system and getting along with the guys and it will be heartbreaking to lose him,” he said.
READ: Ginebra’s Harris feared out for conference with thumb fracture
What hounds Cone most about the imminent loss of Harris is the intangibles he brings to the table, which the coach says has been lacking in Ginebra the past seasons.
“He is such a great energy guy and I always felt that its one thing we always lacked since I’ve taken over Ginebra. Really, that day-in and day-out, that drive and passion, and Paul brought that to us every day. We’ll really miss that,” he said. “It’s a month of working together down the drain. It’s a tough blow for us.”
Ginebra has already lost Greg Slaughter for the conference as he nurses an ankle injury.
Cone, though, is keeping his head up as he hopes that the team would rise above these adversities.
“Those are the kinds of things that build character and you have to overcome. That’s how you build character,” he said. “We’ll keep battling and overcoming.”