Barangay Ginebra San Miguel has had an uneven PBA Philippine Cup so far, dropping to 2-4 at one point. But with their 103-85 victory over the Blackwater Bossing on Wednesday, the crowd darlings are now back to an even 4-4 and are riding a two-game winning run as they approach the final stretch of the eliminations.
That’s the good news. But the bad news is that Tim Cone and his wards are still figuring things out, according to Cone himself.
“We’re still searching ourselves a little bit at this point… These games are really crucial for us to, no. 1, get into the play-offs. We just want to win as many games as we can, and look up at the end of the eliminations and see where we are,” Cone told reporters after Ginebra’s dominant win over the Bossing.
That search was apparent early in Ginebra’s game against Blackwater as the Bossing raced out to a 9-1 lead, with Cone’s starters looking a bit flustered. But Ginebra did figure out Blackwater eventually, coming back steadily before building a big lead.
Ginebra in the Top 4? Cone Hopes So
As things stand, the Barangay will either be the seventh or eighth seed and will have a twice-to-win disadvantage. A top four finish, though, isn’t completely beyond reach. In fact, it’s still mathematically possible—provided Ginebra sweep their remaining games to end up at 7-4. But that’s just one part of the equation. Cone knows Ginebra will need to get lucky, and have several other teams wind up with the same record.
“Maybe we get lucky and get to that top four still, but like I said, we have to get lucky,” Cone said of Ginebra’s top four hopes. “A lot of things will have to break our way for that to happen. But the bottom line is we have got to continue to win games…”
Team NSD’s next games will be against the Terrafirma Dyip on Friday, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on 17 December (in Bahrain), and the Titan Ultra Giant Risers on 21 December.
