FILE – Stanley Pringle. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Still under minutes restriction, Barangay Ginebra guard Stanley Pringle is making do with what is given to him as he tries to regain his top form.
Pringle provided quality minutes off the bench on Sunday, scoring 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from long range on top of two rebounds and a pair of assists to help the Gin Kings grab a 1-0 headstart against the TNT Tropang Giga in the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals.
Pringle’s reduced role, however, doesn’t equate to a diminished value as he remains an integral part of Ginebra.
“[With] Stanley, we don’t take him as a bench player. He is a starter coming off the bench, that’s the way we see him, we just try to keep his minutes at a certain level to help build his body back,” Ginebra coach Tim Cone said after a 102-90 win over TNT.
“We don’t want to get him in a situation where we overplay him and he goes down. He’s too valuable for us so we try to keep his minutes at a certain amount.”
Pringle, who logged 22 minutes, hit timely baskets that kept the Tropang Giga at bay.
“When they went zone (defense) in the end, he stepped up and made big shots and plays. That’s the Stanley we’ve known from the past and he’s slowly but surely getting back to that level,” said Cone.
He also waxed hot from downtown at the most opportune time with Jeremiah Gray off target after going just 2-of-16 from the field.
“Having him (Pringle) come off the bench is an incredible luxury but we are still very careful with Stan because he’s such a great player. We don’t want to break him down.”
The Gin Kings look to take a commanding 2-0 lead on Wednesday.