Even if the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals features two teams owned by the San Miguel Corporation in the San Miguel Beermen and the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, it seems that there is some bad blood brewing between the two squads. And it showed during Game Two of the Finals.
“It’s funny, we’re sister teams but we’re not friendly. Honestly, we’re not friendly with them at all.
“You know, we see them as the mountain to be conquered, and they see us as the threat to their throne, the main threat to their throne. So there’s no love lost between the two teams,” admitted decorated head coach Tim Cone, who has been with Ginebra since 2015.
After falling in Game One via a 28-point rout, San Miguel – the defending champions – had to pick themselves up and bounce back just two days later. But they had to increase their intensity, as every Ginebra game feels like a road match.
“We wantend come out with better and more focused. There was a lot of intensity [needed],” shared Marcio Lassiter, who finished Game Two with 20 markers.
“Siyempre naman yung intensity in the crowd, the environment, it’s gonna get chippy kasi it’s the finals, it’s with Ginebra and we’re going for a back-to-back championship so I think it’s just normal,” added Alex Cabagnot, who had a game-high 33 points in Game Two.
San Miguel came out with guns blazing on Sunday evening, handing Ginebra a taste of their own medicine. But with the game already in the bag with 5:18 left, things almost got out of control.
Already holding an imposing 119-95 lead, Arwind Santos knocked down Scottie Thompson with an elbow to the chest. The former league Most Valuable Player was slapped with a disqualifying foul with 5:18 left. But before he left the floor, he and Kevin Ferrer almost got into a confrontation as well.
Fifteen seconds later, Chris Ross figured in a war of words with Joe Devance as well that resulted in his second technical foul and his ejection.
“It’s the Finals. It’s gonna be emotional. It’s gonna be intense. That’s part of it,” reflected Devance.
Devance summed it up best, as all the marbles are at stake in the final stage of this tournament. But for Renaldo Balkman, cooler heads must prevail as it might cause a suspension or two – a critical misstep in this chess match.
“I mean, I can’t say what I wanna say but at the end of the day, you gotta stay professional. Basketball is tough sometimes, especially when you’re down like that. Tempers get flared but you gotta stay professional all the time,” the Puerto Rican reinforcement opined after San Miguel were able to knot the series up at 1-1.
Though he lauded his team’s fighting spirit, San Miguel head coach Leo Austria wants to avoid these kinds of predicaments at all costs ,as it might lead to them losing the much-needed momentum they gained come Game Three on Wednesday.
“Well, I cannot blame them, and we will support them because of the intensity, and that’s what we want from them,” he expressed. “But next time, they should be smart dahil technical eh, mafa-fine sila diyan, and then may effect ‘yan sa team.”
Having experienced many of these incidents in his illustrious career, Cone knows that it will only get more emotional as the series progresses.
“Right now, their results are higher than ours but I think you’ll continue to see it be chippy. I don’t think it’s going to be lay down for the other team. I expect it to get more chippy. “
