Tim Cone. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Failing to go on the hill in Game 4 of the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals, Ginebra coach Tim Cone was left to rue the missed chances to call for time in the waning seconds on Friday.
“We were trying to call a timeout but our players couldn’t see us,” he lamented.
“That’s the problem with the league rule that coaches can’t call timeouts. The crowd was crazy and they can’t hear you. You are yelling, but the only guy who could call the timeout is the one handling the ball. The whole bench was calling for a timeout but it’s unfortunate that we couldn’t call a timeout.”
The Gin Kings had the last 15 seconds of the game to plot a game-winning or game-tying play after Sol Mercado completed the chasedown block on Jared Dillinger on the other end.
However, the players sought the opportunity to make a play without convening even as Cone and LA Tenorio desperately tried to get the attention of their teammates to no avail.
Joe Devance handed the ball to a cutting Justin Brownlee, who then went for what appeared to be the game-tying floater, but left his shot a little short as Meralco escaped with the 85-83 Game 4 thriller.
Despite that, Cone was happy with the kind of shot the Gin Kings had in the clutch.
“As it turned out, we got a good shot. Justin was able to get a good floater that could have gone in. That’s the problem, we could not set up and they [Meralco] could not set up their defense,” he said.
Still, Cone could not wrap his head around his team failing to call for a timeout, noting that had they sued for time, Ginebra could have gotten a better shot.
“We wish that we had a better alternative,” he said.
The Finals is now tied at 2-all as the series shifts to Philippine Arena for the deciding games. Game 5 is on Sunday.