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With Justin Brownlee just waiting for a call, the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings can dump the disappointing Charles Garcia anytime and get a reliable force to help arrest their slide.
So far, Garcia has tallied averages of 17 points, 7.5 rebounds and five assists and couldn’t help the Gin Kings from losing their first two games in the young PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
But coach Tim Cone isn’t the impulsive type despite the writing on the wall, remaining tight-lipped on the team’s import situation.
“That’s something that we’ll talk about internally. It’s not something that we’ll talk about publicly,” said Cone after the Kings’ 92-96 loss to TNT KaTropa on Sunday.
Brownlee, who led the Kings to back-to-back titles in the Governors’ Cup, is still in town and has shown interest in suiting up for Cone after recently leading San Miguel Alab Pilipinas to the 2018 Asean Basketball League Championship.
“You’ll know if and when or whatever we decide to do,” Cone told scribes.
Return of Slaughter
The Kings will play hard-luck Blackwater Elite in a battle of winless teams on Friday, the time when Cone is expecting 7-foot giant Greg Slaughter to return from a hamstring injury.
Though the heat is on Garcia, Cone readily put the blame on his locals.
“I know all eyes are on our import, but I just feel like it’s more than that,” said Cone. “Our locals are not playing as well either and we’re not just playing at a high level at this point.”
Undeterred by the shortcomings of his team, Cone remains positive of going deep in the playoffs.
“We feel we’ll be there in the end. Obviously, we need to not fall too far behind in [the standings], but we’ll find a way to get there (title series),” said Cone.
The Gin Kings have a penchant for starting slow every conference and they should recover their bearings fast with nine games remaining in the elimination round.