Nothing screams progress more for Barangay Ginebra than scoring a 110-84 annihilation of the San Miguel Beermen, Sunday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
It was the team’s most lopsided victory under head coach Tim Cone, and also the worst defeat for the Beermen under mentor Leo Austria. And although such a win does not necessarily put Ginebra on the same plane as the likes of San Miguel, Alaska, Rain or Shine, or TNT, it is an encouraging sign for the team. It only suggests Ginebra have the tools to become an elite group capable of doing great things in the league.
Ginebra played a deliberate pace — one that’s much to their liking — to open the game, then shifted to a higher gear which saw the team outscore the Beermen 36-22 in the second quarter.
Ginebra generated 32 points off 23 San Miguel turnovers, and also had a 14-2 edge in fastbreak points. The team even shot better from the three-point area at 40 percent, compared to just 25 percent for the Beermen.
Japeth Aguilar (Photo courtesy of PBA Images)
With San Miguel proving to be the standard in the league over the past two seasons, a win likethis only makes the group realize they have the potential to compete against the league’s best squads.
When Ginebra lost to Rain or Shine in the Philippine Cup months ago, Cone was quick to admit that his squad had not been at the same level yet as the PBA’s powerhouse squads.
Several months removed from that loss, though, Ginebra are making significant steps towards entering that ‘elite teams’ conversation. It’s really still a long way, and Cone knows it. The next thing on the menu for him is to have his squad play more consistently on a nightly basis.
“We are capable. That just proves we can really do something, and that’s key,” Cone said after Ginebra’s victory Sunday which pushed the team to solo fourth in the on-going Commissioner’s Cup.
“There’s progress, but we are not at the level of San Miguel (or other contenders). We still got long ways to go. That’s been us. We’ve been inconsistent. We lost to TNT where we were horrible then we came around and beat San Miguel. It was fantastic.”
Cone added: “It’s truly consistency that defines a great team. And we are still in search for consistency.”
For Cone, consistency is what sets the great PBA teams apart from the tier below. Ginebra can’t play impressive on one night and suck on another.
Being one of the elite teams in the league is still long-shot for the crew, but Ginebra are undeniably making good strides. Who knows where they can take themselves if they play consistently every night.
