Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone during Game 2 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—In an unusual display, TNT was caught in a whirlwind of poor defense and bad offense in Game 2 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals–specifically in the second quarter.
Ginebra tied the series against Tropang Giga with a tight 71-70 win in Game 2 where its opponent was held to four measly points in the second quarter.
The Gin Kings opened with a strong start and ended the opening period 21-15, but instead of a TNT fightback–something else happened left even coach Tim Cone slightly surprised.
HIGHLIGHTS: PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals – Ginebra vs TNT Game 2
“Did we expect to hold them like that in the second? No, obviously, but I think a lot of that can be attributed to them getting rough shots and they weren’t getting open looks,” said Cone.
But he knows a part of that historic second quarter for TNT was also about the Gin Kings showing who they really are on defense.
“I thought that coming into this series and into that first quarter, we thought we could do what we wanted but they were just too tough of a defensive team,” said Cone.
TNT coach Chot Reyes during Game 2 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
“We came back and thought, ‘hey, we finished number one on defense in this conference.’ We can turn the tides and bring our own defense to the game.”
TNT’s four-point second period set the record for the lowest scoring output in a PBA Finals quarter, according to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon.
READ: PBA Finals: Tim Cone, Ginebra tired of being outplayed by TNT
The Tropang Giga also broke the record for lowest first half points in a Finals series with 19. Ginebra led at the half, 32-19.
By the numbers, TNT sank just eight field goals–including a lone triple–in the first half out of 41 attempts. That’s a lowly 19.5 percent shooting clip as a squad.
While it seemed like that first half doomed the Tropang Giga for good, coach Chot Reyes’ squad still managed to close in and even take the lead late in the game.
Ginebra, though, managed to hold on down the stretch courtesy of big plays led by Justin Brownlee on the floor.
Cone and the Gin Kings aim to hold TNT on the defensive end even more as they brace for a fierce fight back in Game 3 of the series at Philsports Arena on Wednesday.