At this point, the final seedings for the PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals will probably be determined only after the last game of the last day of the conference on January 31. That’s how bunched up the teams are—so much so that a single loss or victory could make a whale of difference.
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel found that out firsthand after their win over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters propelled them from seventh in the standings to fifth while dropping Rain or Shine to seventh.
Not that Ginebra was reading much into the standings because it wasn’t, at least according to Tim Cone. And he prefers it that way.
“All we can do is control what we can control, and that’s ourselves. We try not to look at the standings too much because if you’re down in the standings, you put a lot of pressure on yourself to try and move up, and it can be a distraction, it can be frustrating. If you’re on top of the standings, you get a little bit kampante, so you really try to avoid looking at the standings,” Cone explained after Ginebra beat Rain or Shine on Wednesday.
Ginebra’s Goal in the Interim: Get to the Top Six
While Cone and his wards might not be agonizing over the standings, they’re fully aware of their position, their goal, and what they need to do.
At the moment, they’re fifth at 8-4, just a win ahead of perennial tormentor TNT Tropang Giga.
Ginebra’s goal is to finish in the top six—away from the bottom two and the twice-to-win disadvantage.
“We know where we are. But we also know we control our own destiny,” Cone pointed out. “And if we can beat Meralco [Bolts] we can get to that top six—at least as far as we know. We feel if we can beat Meralco we can get to that top six and we’ll take it from there. That’s our goal… We need to get to the top six.”
Now, a win over Meralco won’t necessarily mean Ginebra will be top six automatically, as complications may arise in case the crowd darlings wind up tied with two or three other teams at 8-4. A victory, though, would be a step in the right direction, while a loss could prove disastrous.
The good thing for Ginebra is that what happens next is up to them.
