Prior to Game One, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel head coach Tim Cone had already aired concerns over the Magnolia Hotshots’ dreaded guard rotation.
“Their guards are so quick. It can be very frustrating to play against that kind of style. They will be our big challenges,” he said after the Gin Kings dispatched the NLEX Road Warriors, 111-75 last Tuesday to arrange a semis date with the Hotshots.
Cone’s nightmare panned out in the series opener as Ginebra fell to Magnolia, 98-106, for a 0-1 deficit in their 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup best-of-five semi-finals series Saturday night at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo City.
“We just didn’t play well for this game.
“We came out with good force to start this game but we couldn’t sustain it and we succumbed to their pressure and their speed,” Cone said in a quick chat after a stunning defeat.
Cone was referring to the backcourt quartet of Jio Jalalon, Mark Barroca, Justin Melton, and Paul Lee, who delivered the biggest hits to the shocked defending champions from second quarter onward, after Ginebra went off on a rousing 39-31 start.
The four Magnolia guards teamed up for 49 points, 14 rebounds, 10 steals, and nine assists in the Hotshots’ takeover to prove their worth as probably the best backcourt in the league.
Paul Lee was the biggest factor in that fearsome combo with his 27 points, including nine crucial points in the dying minutes, to go along four rebounds, three assists, and four steals.
More than their offense, they also did a good job on the other end, as they limited Ginebra’s own backcourt of LA Tenorio, Scottie Thompson, and Sol Mercado to just 13, seven, and two points respectively.
“Like I said, we came out with good force, started the game well but we started to succumb to their pressure as the game progressed,” Cone added.
“They played the game they wanted to play and we played their game. We gotta be better.”
The most decorated mentor in PBA history also rued their frontcourt ,which should have been their big advantage, as Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar also bled for just 18 and eight points respectively.
“I didn’t think our big guys were totally engaged in the game today. They need to get better engaged and that goes for everybody,” he added.
“But we just didn’t play a game that felt that we were engaged well.”
Cone and the rest of the Gin Kings will seek to equalize the series in Game 2 set on Monday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, to stay alive in their three-peat title bid for this season-ending conference.
