Barangay Ginebra San Miguel might have missed out on closing out the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals in Game 6, but Tim Cone is surprisingly confident that his team can still finish the job in Game 7.
“Scottie [Thompson] and RJ [Abarrientos] were 2-for-18 from the field,” Cone pointed out to reporters after Ginebra’s 98-90 loss to the TNT Tropang 5G on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. “You’re not gonna see that very often, so we’re gonna feel good about ourselves in Game 7. We know we can take this and we’re gonna go for it.”
“I just hope that if we do win, they don’t turn around and say it’s about the referees again.”
Tim Cone Lashes Out at Narrative: ‘It’s Getting Old’
Aside from being confident in the immediate aftermath of Ginebra’s loss in Game 6, Tim Cone was also unusually fiery in addressing incessant insinuations that Ginebra only wins games because the referees are favoring the crowd darlings.
“I’m just getting real tired of the idea that if we win, it’s because we got favors from the referees. And when they win, it’s about great coaching and great play,” Cone pointed out. “It’s a narrative that’s getting really old, and it’s starting to bother me a little bit.”
While Cone didn’t explicitly mention names, his lamentations are likely a response to Chot Reyes’s gamesmanship in calling out the officiating. After Game 5, in particular, the former Gilas Pilipinas coach rued “free throw discrepancies” after Ginebra took 29 freebies to TNT’s 17.
In Game 6, however, the Tropa attempted 15 free throws to the Gin Kings’ 10. For the series, TNT actually has shot more free throw attempts (119) than Ginebra (114) and has had the advantage in freebies in three of the six games so far—with Game 1 seeing both teams attempt the same number (17).
In other words, the numbers don’t seem to back up Reyes’s imputations—at least when it comes to free throw discrepancies.
So, forgive Tim Cone for growing tired of what he perceives as the prevailing narrative in these finals.
