ONE thing’s certain—Ginebra coach Tim Cone will remember this for a long time.
“We lost to the better team, and I felt we just ran out of steam down the stretch,” Cone said after the Kings dropped a heart-rending 85-95 loss to the TNT Tropang Giga last Friday night in Game 6 of their best-of-7 finals battle for the PBA Governors’ Cup crown.
“You’ve got to give TNT the credit. They really clamped down on our triangle (offense). We weren’t executing as well as we could and mostly it’s because of their defense,” he added.
The setback ended Ginebra’s bid to reach the Promised Land for the first time since the mid-season Commissioner’s Cup early last year and marked the second time in a row the Kings fell to the Tropang Giga in the same edition of the tournament.
With their sights now trained on the Commissioner’s Cup set to open shop on Nov. 27, Cone said injured Fil-Am star Jamie Malonzo will have to return to Ginebra first before rejoining Gilas Pilipinas.
“No, he won’t play with Gilas until he gets back with Ginebra, and plays with Ginebra first,” Cone said of the high-flying Malonzo who is recovering from calf surgery last summer.
“He has to play with Ginebra, before he’s available to play for Gilas.”
Ditto with Jeremiah Gray (ACL), whom Cone wants to be back in harness soon along with Malonzo.
“We hope so. We’re hoping that he (Malonzo) and Maya (Gray) would both be available at the next conference,” said Cone. “Not a slam dunk, but I think it would take more time.”
With a rejigged tournament format featuring two groups, the Kings wound up with a 6-4 mark for third in Group B and swept the Meralco Bolts 3-0 in the quarterfinals.
Ginebra ousted San Miguel Beer 4-2 in the semifinals but got a dose of its own medicine in the titular duel with TNT, losing 2-4.
“Sometimes you just have to tip off your cap to the other team,” Cone said. “But our guys showed up. They came back from that tough Game 5 and showed a lot of fight.”
While crestfallen by the loss, Cone is happy for good pal and Tropang Giga counterpart Chot Reyes.
“I’m sad for myself. I’m sad for my players. I’m sad for our fans. But I’m happy for Chot. I’m happy that he got some vindication. It’s been a hard road for him the last couple of years,” he said. “For him to get this, it’s really good for him and his family.
“So, I’m happy for him. Just wish it wasn’t at my own personal expense, but that’s just the way it is.”
If there’s some consolation from this agonizing defeat in the Big Dance, Cone should listen to what Reyes said.
“That (coaching head-to-head lead) means very little to me,” Reyes said. “My personal record with coach Tim is what it is, but the next time when we get back on this situation, it’s going to be another challenge.”
When that “another challenge” comes, Cone will surely bounce back.
