Cone compares Ginebra rookie Ferrer to Lassiter, Brownlee

Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

LUCENA—Lost in the shuffle of Ginebra’s wild 124-118 overtime thriller in Game 2 over San Miguel on Sunday was Kevin Ferrer’s secondquarter explosion.

The former University of Santo Tomas stud showed his worth, firing on all cylinders as shot 7-of-8 from the field in a blazing second period where he unleashed 18 of his 21 points.

“That’s Kevin and he’s a rhythm shooter,” said coach Tim Cone. “When he gets it going, you better know where he is, he’s a lot like (Marcio) Lassiter in that regard. You got to find him and locate him. That’s why we added him, that’s why we wanted him so badly because he adds that element to our team that we don’t normally have.”

Ferrer was so good in Game 2 that the two-time Grand Slam-winning coach dared to compare him to import Justin Brownlee, whose buzzer-beating triple earned Ginebra the Governors’ Cup title last season.

“Kevin has been key for us this whole conference, I think, in terms of giving us that extra dimension that we had when we had Justin Brownlee,” Cone said.

“We had Justin Brownlee, and he was doing a lot of the stuff that Kevin is doing for us now. In fact, they play a similar game. It’s just that Justin is an NBA-quality player, and that’s the big difference. But Kevin adds that dimension that we lacked, so he’s been a real key for us.”

Ferrer can’t help but feel humbled with Cone’s comparisons.

“Wow, that’s different. I’m proud to be compared, but all I want is to keep on doing the right things and follow what coach’s plans are. I’m thankful to coach that he compared me to Brownlee,” he said.

Still, Ferrer downplayed his stellar game and said that everything he did was to just help the team win.

“I did my best. The game plan was if you’re open, shoot it. They gave us the confidence and all we had was to follow our plans,” he said.

Ferrer finished the game with 21 markers on an 8-of-10 shooting from the field and three rebounds.

However, as great of his touch may have been, all Cone wants to see from his rookie is his defense first.

“He’s still learning the game. He made some mistakes defensively down the stretch. Because we are a defensive-first team and we rely on our defense, it’s really hard for the rookies out there who don’t understand the importance and all the techniques that we do defensively. He kind of disrupts a little bit but on the other hand, we get some great offense from him,” he said.

Ferrer, meanwhile, is all ears to his legendary coach, heeding his words as he tries to contribute more for the Gin Kings, especially in this 2017 PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

“I charge it to experience. Now, I know the tendencies of some players, so I won’t let them get away. At least in the end, I was able to make up for my mistakes,” he said as he and the Gin Kings brace for a tougher battle come Game 3 on Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“It’s an all-out war. We’ll make our necessary adjustments for that game,” he said.