GINEBRA got all the help it needed to get past TNT last Sunday night: The Tropang Giga showed up without import Cameron Oliver (sprained knee), veteran playmaker Jayson Castro twisted his left ankle and left the match for good in the third quarter, and the Kings zoomed to a fiery start.
Coach Tim Cone’s charges hurdled TNT, but by the skin of their teeth.
“We had to do everything we could just to stay in the game and have a chance to win in the end after our blistering start,” Cone said. “Just an incredibly awesome job of (of Chot Reyes) coaching. We were lucky to walk out of there with a win. Really lucky.
“They lost Jayson, they lost (Mikey) Williams for a little bit, no import. (Roger) Pogoy got hurt for a little bit,” he added.
Cone spoke after Ginebra carved out an 89-85 victory over the gritty Tropang Giga for their fifth straight win and clinched a quarterfinals berth in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Despite getting one in another duel of wits with good pal and TNT counterpart Reyes, Cone said he felt he was outcoached.
“Let me say this, you name me the winning coach, but I felt like I was totally outcoached today,” Cone, who was feted at halftime as the first coach in the pro league with 1,000 career wins (he notched the milestone in their 98-84 triumph over Blackwater four days ago) said. “What an awesome job Talk ‘N Text did, what an awesome job coach Chot did.”
Reinforcement Justin Brownlee showed the way for the Kings with 21 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, while Stanley Pringle chipped in 12 markers and a board.
