THE problem with twice-to-beat disadvantage? Ask Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
Despite negating TNT’s win-once bonus in the quarterfinals, Cone is not one to feel giddy about his team’s chances.
The defending champions Kings must still beat the Tropang Giga one more time.
“That’s why twice-to-beat is so hard to overcome. You can always get the first one, but the second one is much, much tougher,” Cone said.
“So, that’s our agenda at this point, trying to figure out a way to get that second one, trying to figure out a way to follow up this game and that’s what we’re gonna try to prepare for in the next two days,” he added.
Taking its never-say-die mantra into game, Ginebra whipped TNT 104-92 last Wednesday night before 7,091 fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum to forge a knockout battle in the quarterfinals of the PBA Governors Cup.
Justin Brownlee led the Kings with a game-high 38 points, on top of 12 rebounds, while do-it-all guard Scottie Thompson had a double-double of 23 markers and 15 boards.Japeth Aguilar also notched 21 points for Ginebra.
The No. 3 Tropang Giga and sixth seeded Kings clash anew on Sunday at the same venue, with the winner advancing to the semifinals of the season-ending tourney.
Cone, the league’s winningest strategist, admitted TNT is still the favorite.
“I don’t want to make too big of a deal about this game. It’s just a game, one game. All we did was even out the odds,” Cone said.
“They had the overwhelmingly big odds coming into this series, and now we’ve kind of halved those odds. They’re still the favorites.”
Cone heaved a big sigh of relief after his wards finally got one over the Tropang Giga.
“This is the first time that we beat them since the finals (of the 2020 Philippine Cup),” Cone said.
“They have our number, and they have a real, good feel for what we like to do. Chot Reyes always has a good feel for what I like to do. He’s always been a tough strategist.”
