Barangay Ginebra San Miguel coach Tim Cone acknowledged after Game 6 that the better team won the series—and that one man may have sealed the deal with one timely offensive explosion.
“They were obviously the better team,” Cone told reporters after San Miguel eliminated Ginebra on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. “They made all the big shots, they made all the big stops, not just tonight but throughout the whole series. CJay [Perez] just came out and deflated the energy of our defense by the shots he made.”
Perez, of course, had a historic start to Game 6, firing 30 big points in the first quarter alone on 12-for-12 shooting from the field to stake the Beermen to a quick 14-point advantage, 39-25, after one.
Cone Rues Failed Ginebra Comeback
But, as it did all series long, Ginebra fought back in the second half, with Scottie Thompson delivering his own masterclass in the third quarter to help Ginebra close the gap to 79-71 heading into the fourth quarter. Team NSD then got to within 83-79 on a Norbert Torres triple, but that was as close as they could get.
“We never got our defense going, though it got a little better in the second half,” said Cone. “[But] every time there was a big moment, we either made a turnover or we couldn’t get a stop. That was just the story of the whole series. We just couldn’t step up big time. And they did. They were well-deserved.”
Indeed, Ginebra couldn’t get a stop when they threatened to get within four. Only this time, it wasn’t Perez torching the Ginebra defense. It was Don Trollano, who fired 11 of his 23 points in the fourth to seal Game 6 and the series.
Now, Cone and Ginebra are back to the proverbial drawing board. The better team, on the other hand, will be going for back-to-back PBA Philippine Cup titles.
