While Game 3 shows 91-85 in favor of the San Miguel Beermen, the game wasn’t as close as the final score indicates. The reality was that the Beermen were in control as they moved ahead in their PBA Philippine Cup semis showdown against Ginebra.
And, save for a brief 9-2 blast to open the third, Ginebra just looked lost and a step slower as San Miguel dictated the action and played its brand of championship basketball. That 16-0 run the Beermen unleashed, in fact, encapsulated the overriding trend of Game 3: San Miguel toying with Ginebra’s defense and getting open looks and layups, with Don Trollano at the forefront of it all.
After the game, Tim Cone owned up to Ginebra’s poor effort, saying it’s on him that Team NSD “looked confused at times.”
“We didn’t play well from the get-go, and that’s on me. Just didn’t get our guys ready, locked in. I got to do a better job of that…,” Cone said in the aftermath of Ginebra’s loss. “It was a struggle all night. We battled and we fought all night, but we just didn’t play a good game. We lacked poise, we lacked an idea of what we wanted to do out there. We looked confused at times.”
The Tim Cone Special
Then again, Tim Cone taking the bullet for Ginebra playing poorly is nothing new. It’s something he usually does whenever his team gives a bad effort.
The self-flagellation looks warranted, as the Gin Kings really did look lost against San Miguel in Game 3. There were numerous missed assignments and slow rotations on defense, and lots of poor decisions on offense that led to easy San Miguel points in transition.
Even so, the league’s winningest coach lauded his wards for the fight they showed against the in-form, firing-on-all-cylinders Beermen. But even Cone knows full well that battling hard against San Miguel just won’t cut it.
“Just not a good game, but our guys battled and continued to fight, but that’s not good enough against a team like San Miguel,” Cone pointed out. “You can’t just come in and battle and fight. You got to play great, and we didn’t play great tonight, and again that’s on me.”
If it’s any consolation, Tim Cone knows it’s on him to come up with the winning formula. He’ll need to think of one fast, as Game 4 takes place on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Tip-off is at 5:15 p.m.
