Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
For all his genius, Tim Cone is not looking at one technical aspect in the Barangay Ginebra game to help the Gin Kings climb out of the bottom half of the PBA Philippine Cup standings.
He’s looking for something intangible, a quality that makes good teams great in the long run.
“We’re still looking for that elusive rhythm that we keep talking about,” Cone said as the Gin Kings—reeling from two straight defeats and coming off what their coach said was their “worst game in the last couple of conferences”—battle winless Mahindra today at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We’ll be looking to bounce back,” Cone said as Ginebra tangles with the Floodbusters in the 7 p.m. contest. “We know we’ll get it (rhythm) at some point and we’ll get things going. But it won’t happen on its own.
“We need to work for it,” he said.
Cone guided the Kings to their first championship in eight years in last season’s Governors’ Cup, a victory that raised the level of expectations here through the roof.
So far, his wards have done little to meet the challenge.
“We need a little better sense of urgency,” he said.
While Cone branded a 91-84 loss to GlobalPort last Sunday as their worst game yet, the Floodbusters will be coming off losing by just three points to defending champion San Miguel Beer on that same day.
This game will determine whether Mahindra has improved after losing its first three games by an average of 18 points.
Meanwhile, Nash Racela will resume his search for the first win of his pro coaching career today when TNT KaTropa slugs it out with Phoenix Petroleum in the 4:15 p.m. contest.
Both squads will also be coming off losses, but the focus on this game will be on Racela, who formally assumed the reins from Jong Uichico the last time out but failed to save the Texters from losing for the first time in their last three games after dropping a 98-87 decision to Meralco.
The Fuel Masters also have a 2-2 record like the Texters, but coach Ariel Vanguardia will be hard-pressed to motivate his crew after trailing by as large as 53 points in the ugliest rout of the season handed them by Star last week.
Phoenix will lean on the likes of Cyrus Baguio and rookie Matthew Wright against TNT’s veteran crew led by Jason Castro, Ryan Reyes and Ranidel de Ocampo.