Tim Cone left ’embarrassed’ by Ginebra’s 38-point loss to San Miguel
Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone didn’t go into detail how his team got obliterated at the hands of defending champion San Miguel in Game 3 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals.
Cone’s Gin Kings lost 132-94 in a game that was tied for the most lopsided loss in the PBA championship match and the league’s winningest tactician was frank about his team’s performance.
“I have nothing to say other than I am embarrassed by our performance,” said Cone Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
READ: PBA Finals: San Miguel clobbers Ginebra by 38 points for 2-1 lead
Cone, who owns 20 league titles, saw his team get manhandled in a way that was almost reminiscent of what he once did to the Beermen two decades earlier.
Alaska, Cone’s first team with the PBA, bamboozled San Miguel 99-61 in Game 6 of the 1998 Philippine Cup and that 38-point blowout stood for 20 years until the Beermen caught up.
It would’ve been a 40-point blowout for the Beermen had Aljon Mariano not made shot the game’s final layup with 44 seconds remaining.
READ: Anticipating a dogfight vs Cone’s Ginebra, Chris Ross comes out firing
San Miguel was potent on both ends of the court shooting at a 51.5 percent clip on 52-of-101 shots and was 14-of-34 from long distance while holding Ginebra to just 35-of-74 attempts from the field.
The Beermen also outrebounded the Gin Kings, 55-38, and was ahead 20-8 under the offensive glass.
And if muscling their way underneath wasn’t enough, the Beermen forced 21 Ginebra turnovers and 15 of those were steals tallied under San Miguel’s box score.
“They’re too good for us,” said Cone as his team dropped 2-1 in the series.
