COACH Tim Cone of defending champion Ginebra admitted his charges were simply outclassed by TNT in the second game of the Big Dance last Wednesday.
“They flipped the script on us, and they did everything they wanted to do. We didn’t get anything done that we wanted to do,” Cone said after his team absorbed an 82-95 loss. “It was a total turnaround. So now it’s 1-1. So, we’ll just see what happens in Game 3.
“We got to play with a little more discipline and come out with a little bit more fire than we did, and it was certainly disappointing, no doubt about it,” he added.
The Tropang Giga and the Kings tangle anew in Game 3 today of their best-of-7 finals duel for the PBA Governors’ Cup title at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The match is set at 5:45 p.m., with the combatants keen on breaking the 1-1 standoff and taking a 2-1 lead in the race-to-4 series.
“It’s a series and it’s not one game. So, whether you lose by one point, you lose by 15 points, you lose by 30 points, it’s all just losing. So, we’ll just move on to the next one at this point,” said Cone.
Naturalized Filipino forward and Ginebra import Justin Brownlee vowed to atone for a paltry 12-point output in Game 2 that also saw him shoot just 3-of-16 overall.
“I just got to be better; 3 for 16? Yeah, I just got to be better in that field. I got to give TNT a lot of credit though. They switched up their game plans as far as the way they guarded me,” Brownlee said.
“Jefferson had a great game on both sides of the court. Yeah, just got to give him a lot of credit. Bouncing back.”
Apart from Brownlee, the likes of reigning MVP Scottie Thompson, Christian Standhardinger, Jamie Malonzo, Jeremiah Gray, and Stanley Pringle are expected to carry the fight for the Kings.
TNT tactician Jojo Lastimosa said veteran big man Kelly Williams could suit up today after recovering from a calf injury, considered a big boost for the team after center Justin Chua was ruled out of the series due to an ACL injury suffered in Game 1.
“If he can give us a few valuable minutes then that’s going to be a welcome sight. But we’re ready to play with our small lineup with Calvin (Oftana) at the four, Glenn (Khobuntin) at the three,” Lastimosa said.
“I think Tim (Cone) said that is the lineup that he has problems with because he will have to extend C-Stan (Christian Standhardinger) to guard our power forward, and Calvin is a shooter so that takes them away from what they do best. So, let’s see how it goes but I still have a big lineup to put in.”