When Ginebra pulled out a 92-89 overtime victory over Star, the crowd inside the Mall of Asia Arena was in high spirits; people kept chanting “Hee-ne-brah” after the match and that energy was felt all over the place.
On Sunday after the game against Globalport, the atmosphere was the same: loud, festive, overwhelming. The crowd got up on its feet and cheered endlessly as Ginebra made its way to the dugout.
It was surely an exciting overtime game again for Ginebra, except the result was different.
Ginebra dropped the knockout game marred by a late-game controversy, 84-83, allowing the Batang Pier to enter their first semi-finals.
But the crowd kept pushing their team on. And like them, Ginebra players stayed positive, as there were small steps to celebrate after all.
“Too much for the what ifs. It is how it is. Globalport played by these rules too and they won the game so credit to them,” Greg Slaughter said.
“It always sucks to lose but we also have to look at the big picture. We are here for the long term with coach Tim (Cone). We did grow as a team. We definitely showed a lot of positives as a team.”
Slaughter himself enjoyed a skyrocketing improvement, averaging 22.7 PPG, 14.5 RPG, and 1.4 BPG in the conference.
While the road for the Philippine Cup has already reached its end, Slaughter is optimistic Cone can lead them to better places.
“I couldn’t be happier. He is such a great coach and I know this is definitely not the end for us. There is so much to improve on and he is going to get us there.”
Ginebra did finish with a better elimination round record than in the past five conferences. For a certain stretch, they were able to win seven of their last eight games.
The team showed promise by being better than most middle teams in the league, although it is clear they are not yet in the same level as the PBA’s powerhouses.
But the crew understands it would be a lengthy process to get there, and blazing that trail starts with a positive outlook.
“Sana magtuloy-tuloy yung laro namin, yung magandang pinapakita namin,” LA Tenorio said. “It’s a process for us. We are still positive looking forward to the next conference.”
This new era in Ginebra basketball is just getting started.
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