RESIDENT import Justin Brownlee and reigning MVP Scottie Thompson typified Ginebra’s never-say-die mantra against San Miguel Beer but Kings coach Tim Cone reserved his biggest praise to the team’s “Sixth Man” last Sunday night.
“We were playing discouraged basketball because things weren’t working for us, and it was sapping our energy,” Cone said. “When we made a couple of plays consecutively, all of a sudden, we were encouraged, and the energy came back, and the crowd got in it and kept pumping us full of energy.
“It was Justin (Brownlee) and Scottie (Thompson), but we owe this win to the ‘Sixth Man’ that we had there. They were great,” he said of the team’s fans.
Cone spoke after his charges pulled off a heart-stopping 97-96 come-from-behind win over the Beermen in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Trailing by as much as 57-76 late in the third canto, Ginebra did a Lazarus behind Brownlee, Thompson, Jamie Malonzo, Japeth Aguilar, and Nards Pinto and stole what appeared to be a victory in the bag from SMB via a furious fourth quarter fightback capped by a backbreaking corner triple by Thompson with 4.8 seconds to go.
The Beermen still had a chance to avert the huge meltdown, but Thompson provided a key defensive stop on SMB reinforcement Devon Scott in the Beermen’s final thrust.
Cone gushed on the play that paved the way for Thompson’s dagger of a trey.
“I was telling the guys, it’s there for us, we just play a little smarter, we just make a few more plays. From the Best Import to the MVP. What a luxury that is for me as a coach,” Cone said.
“The trust was there, and he made a great pass and Scottie made a great shot from the corner.”
The Kings’ dramatic triumph came on the heels of a 111-90 whipping of Terrafirma last Oct. 28 and rose to 5-2 for solo fourth.
SMB, coming off a 104-86 shellacking of NorthPort last Oct. 26, fell to 3-4 in a tie with NLEX.
Brownlee barely missed a triple-double with a game-high 33 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists for Ginebra, while Thompson chipped in 14 markers, six boards, and six dimes.
Malonzo and Aguilar also had 13 points each for the Kings.
Scott carried the fight for the Beermen with 26 points and 21 caroms, while CJ Perez added 19 markers.
Simon Enciso, Jericho Cruz, and Vic Manuel also contributed 14, 14, and 13 points, respectively, for SMB.
