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Coach Tim Cone gave a worrisome observation of Barangay Ginebra’s form despite arranging a mouthwatering semifinal clash with Magnolia on Saturday.
“If we play like that against Magnolia, it’s not gonna be much of a (Manila) Clasico,” Cone said after Ginebra overcame NorthPort, 99-93, to complete a sweep of their best-of-three PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals at Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Cone and his Gin Kings had to overcome an 18-point deficit late in the first quarter and a persistent Batang Pier side until the latter part of the contest to set up a best-of-five meeting with the Hotshots, who a day earlier made the semis after beating the Phoenix Fuel Masters just one time.
It will be the fourth time since 2014 that the two San Miguel Corporation-owned teams, a sibling rivalry described as “Manila Clasico,” will figure in a semifinal series, with the league expected to draw bigger crowds at this stage of the midseason tournament.
San Miguel Beer likewise completed a sweep of its quarterfinal series with Converge after a 120-107 win in the second game.
The Beermen, with Terrence Romeo firing 22 points, sealed a semis series with the guest team Bay Area Dragons that starts Wednesday like the Ginebra-Magnolia pairing.
The Gin Kings prevailed in their elimination round clash in October, rallying from a double-digit margin to stun the Hotshots, 103-97, at Mall of Asia Arena. But even with that result, Cone is preparing for a tough task against opposing import Nick Rakocevic.
Rakocevic has proven himself as an all-around reinforcement that fits coach Chito Victolero’s system, and may have been the primary reason why the Hotshots won 10 of 12 games in the eliminations.
“He gave us fits when we played them the first time around in the eliminations,” Cone said when asked about the former Serbian youth player. “He was dominant, especially on the boards. I mean, absolutely we couldn’t get him off the boards.
“He is long and tall, but he’s incredibly quick to the balance. So that’s something we’re gonna have to take a look at and get better prepared for than we were in the eliminations,” added Cone.
Cone also hopes that the NorthPort series will serve as a lesson for Ginebra to be at its toes this time, since the two-game sweep didn’t come easily.
The Gin Kings won, 118-102, in the opener, but had to pull away in the third behind import Justin Brownlee. The clincher, meanwhile, saw them slowly erase a 29-11 deficit with Scottie Thompson leading the way in the second and LA Tenorio securing the win by knocking down clutch threes that tied him with James Yap for third all-time in made shots from downtown at 1,178.
“We got to really pick it up,” Cone said. “We had a let-down at the start of the game. And even when we got ahead, we still had a lot of mental errors. And it’s not the characteristic of our team but it showed.
“We got to play back-to-back games in the playoffs better than we did tonight.”