Ginebra head coach Tim Cone. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Ginebra coach Tim Cone resigned to the fact the Gin Kings had already lost just five minutes into Game 4 of the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
“They beat us up black and blue from start to finish. They were awesome. They did everything they wanted to do,” Cone said after San Miguel’s 94-85 win on Friday.
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“We tried to do something differently, defensively, but they ate us up at the beginning of the game. We tried our best to get into it, but by and large, the game was lost in first five minutes.”
The Beermen started the game on fire, jumping on an 11-0 start and established a dominant 20-2 lead with seven minutes to play in the first frame. They continued to step on the gas pedal, shooting the lights out from beyond the arc as they went 6-of-12 in the opening period.
San Miguel finished the game on a 15-of-35 shooting from three.
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Though Ginebra still staged a late fightback and trimmed the deficit to as low as seven, 92-85, late in the game, it was too late to recover for the Kings, who went down 1-3 in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
And the knows that the job just gets tougher for Cone with Ginebra backed against the wall with Game 5 set this Sunday.
“It’s really a deep hole, but got to see if we can climb out of it. We just have to focus on Game 5, that’s all were worried about,” he said.
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The two-time Grand Slam-winning coach wants the Gin Kings to buckle down and go back to basics, to not be overwhelmed with the defending champions and play their game come Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“There’s not much to say. They just beat us up. They showed how much power they have. They just overwhelmed us tonight. We knew it would happen once or twice, but now it’s happened twice. Again, they’re just overwhelming at times,” said.
“Bottom line for us is we rushed the game. From the first minute onward, we were just rushing shots, playing at a tempo that we can’t normally play at. We’re gonna be unsuccessful if we play at that tempo. For us, it’s just gonna be back to basics and see what we can do for Game 5.”