Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, perhaps surprisingly, is up 2-0 against the San Miguel Beermen in their PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals showdown. And, after the crowd darlings’ 126-99 dismantling of the Beermen on Friday to seize complete control of this series, Tim Cone admitted he is surprised Ginebra is on the semis hill after two games—but he certainly isn’t complaining.
“Is everyone as surprised as I am about this? We didn’t even dream that we would be able to get out even 1-1, much less 2-0. So, you know, we’re definitely on a roll,” Cone told reporters after Ginebra’s second win in the series. “Our offense is clicking, and guys are locked in defensively. And we’re just trying to keep the pressure on San Miguel, keep attacking, keep going at them. And so far, it’s working. And I really don’t have any complaints at this point…”
Cone is right. Through two games, Ginebra has averaged 115 points while limiting San Miguel to under 100 each time. The crowd darlings have also gotten contributions from the usual suspects—Jordan Murphy, Scottie Thompson, and RJ Abarrientos—and even from second-stringers Isaac Go, Jeremiah Gray, and Ralph Cu. In contrast, the Beermen have largely struggled, with June Mar Fajardo held to just 3 points in Game 1 and George King limited to 13 in Game 2.
Two Wins Don’t Make a Series
While Cone is pleasantly surprised that his team is up 2-0, he knows full well this series isn’t over. He should know, as he has blown 2-0 leads before, including, most infamously, in the 1990 Third Conference Finals when he was still with the Alaska franchise.
“As we all know, we’ve heard this many times before. I can’t even tell you how many series I’ve been in now in the PBA… I’ve seen a lot of things happen, that teams come back, teams get on a roll. Teams get going forward,” explained Cone, who then stressed that the onus is on Ginebra to keep the intensity up as it goes for the proverbial kill.
“It’s just going to continue on us to not relax, [to] not let our guard down, and keep coming out with the same intensity game to game that we’ve been doing,” he said.
It Starts at Practice
It turns out that intensity and preparation start at practice, where guys, according to Cone, have been working really hard and doing the work.
“Guys have been doing the work in practice daily, and it’s showing up [in games],” the league’s winningest coach added. “That’s what I appreciate the most, is that we’re doing the work in practice, and it’s showing up in games.”
Indeed, whatever Ginebra has been doing in practice is certainly carrying over to the games. And now the reigning Commissioner’s Cup champions are just one game away from moving on to the semis.
They’ll look to accomplish it on Tuesday, November 3, in Game 3.
