Ginebra head coach Tim Cone. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—An apologetic Tim Cone took full responsibility for Barangay Ginebra’s early exit in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup following the team’s loss to TNT in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
The Gin Kings have struggled all-conference finishing with a 4-7 record in the eliminations and needing to win an eighth-place playoff just to make the quarterfinals and prolong their title reign.
What waited for them, however, was top seed TNT which finished the preliminaries with an excellent 10-1 record.
“I can’t find the words to express our sorrow and embarrassment over our performance in the bubble,” posted Cone on Twitter Thursday, a day after the team’s 84-71 loss to the Tropang Giga at DHVSU Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
“We didn’t live up to the Ginebra legacy, and that was totally my fault. I apologize to the Ginebra nation.”
The Gin Kings, to their credit, managed to make the playoffs without two of their key players in Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar.
Thompson was subjected to the league’s health and safety protocols while Aguilar had a sprained MCL in his left knee.
Cone, the winner of 23 titles, promised that an early playoff exit will never happen again as long as he’s at the helm at Ginebra’s bench.
“All I can say is that it won’t happen again as long as I’m the coach.”