GAMES TOMORROW
(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)
5 p.m. – NLEX vs. NorthPort
7:30 p.m. – SMB vs. Converge
THIS was not even close.
Ginebra mangled TNT last Sunday night, turning what was an expected dogfight to an emphatic show of sharpness, cohesiveness and depth.
For Kings coach Tim Cone, it was simply one of those games where the stakes were high and his charges took care of business.
“We’re just trying to take what we can control, and that’s ourselves and what we’re doing. Again, we came into this game with the idea that this was going to be a big game in terms of trying to fight for that top four spot,” Cone said. “Didn’t guarantee us anything, but it did help us along the way and it allows us to continue to control our own destiny. We knew that we were coming up against a really big opponent who was playing with a lot of momentum.
“I think that motivated us to understand that we were going to have to play a really tight game tonight and I thought we played a really tight game on both sides of the floor. We executed defensively and we executed offensively,” he added.
Cone’s thoughts came on the heels of a 97-78 shellacking of the grand slam-seeking Tropang 5G for their second straight win and boosted their drive for a top four finish at the end of the eliminations of the PBA Philippine Cup.
The lopsided triumph enabled Ginebra to move to 7-3 in a tie with Magnolia for third in the 11-game elims where the top four seeds will gain twice-to-beat advantages in the quarterfinals.
“I just think that we came out with some real ferociousness to start the game and just were able to carry it through. But, again, there were some mitigating instances or circumstances that allowed us to get a game like this tonight,” Cone, whose team snapped TNT’s six-game winning streak and spoiled the debut of Jordan Heading for the Tropang 5G, said.
“But, at this point of the conference, when you’re battling for that top four spot, you’ll take any advantage you can get.”
Heroes were aplenty for the Kings led by rookie playmaker RJ Abarrientos who tallied a game-high 23 points that he laced with four rebounds and four assists while Japeth Aguilar chipped in a double-double of 20 markers, 14 boards, and two dimes.
Stephen Holt, Jamie Malonzo, and Troy Rosario also had 12, 12, and 11 points, respectively as Ginebra did an encore to an 85-81 squeaker over Magnolia last week.
While it was a big boost to the Kings’ bid in the homestretch, Cone said they still have their work cut out for them.
“We’ll see how it works out. I mean, hopefully, it works to a point where that game is non-bearing for both of us. We’re all seated in the top four. It’s like what Japeth again said, it’s all about controllables,” he said. “What we control and what we can’t control and we can’t control what the other teams do.”
