Barangay Ginebra San Miguel dropped to 1-2 in the PBA Governors’ Cup on Sunday after absorbing a 110-99 beating from the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The final score shows an 11-point win for the Elasto Painters, but it doesn’t accurately reflect their dominance or the ease with which they beat Ginebra. Tim Cone was predictably unhappy afterwards, lamenting his team’s poor effort in particular.
“I’m disappointed with our effort tonight. Really, really, really poor effort tonight. Worst we’ve had in a long time,” Cone pointed out.
The numbers bear Cone out as Rain or Shine dominated the barangay in rebounding, 46-37; in fast-break points, 14-3; in points off turnovers, 27-13; and in points in the paint, 54-22. Ginebra also turned the ball over more (21-16), surrendered more offensive rebounds (17-11), and generally played lackadaisical basketball for most of the game.
Cone Laments Ginebra’s Lack of Fire
In Cone’s eyes, Rain or Shine simply played with greater urgency, with Aaron Fuller typifying that fiery mindset the most. In a little under 39 minutes, the bull-strong lefty dominated Ginebra to the tune of 37 points and 12 rebounds on 15-for-25 shooting. He routinely got to the paint, sealed his defender, and scored easy points inside as Ginebra’s frontline proved incapable of stopping him.
“They out-hustled us in all departments tonight. They had a greater sense of urgency. Somehow, I’m gonna have to try to light a fire under our players, especially our key guys,” added Cone.
Indeed, Ginebra’s old reliables didn’t punch back hard enough when the Elasto Painters were taking the fight to them. RJ Abarrientos finished with 13 points and 8 assists but turned the ball over 6 times. Japeth Aguilar had 10 points but only 4 rebounds and couldn’t wall off the paint on defense. Stephen Holt fired 10 points but was ineffective in the second half.
Not Time to Panic Yet
While Cone was disappointed with how Ginebra lost on Sunday, he wasn’t at all surprised. Slow starts have been a Ginebra staple of late, and the crowd darlings appear to be mired in that at the moment. Even so, the PBA’s winningest coach remains defiant—and hopeful—that his team will turn things around.
“We feel we’ll be there in the end, but I’m not surprised we’re going through struggles right now,” Cone said. “But eventually, we’ll figure it out. Generally, we always do.”
Ginebra might want to start figuring things out now, as they will be facing a familiar nemesis in the Meralco Bolts on Friday, July 31, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
