The game was decided by the first five minutes
After back-to-back inspiring efforts in Games Two and Three, the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings reverted to their habit of starting slow in Game Four, as the Beermen quickly raced to a 20-2 lead.
“They beat us up black and blue, start to finish, it was that game. They were awesome. They did everything they wanted to do,” admitted a defeated Tim Cone.
The lead went to as high as 26 points, 60-34, early in the final frame, as San Miguel torched Ginebra for almost the entirety of the game, draining a Finals-record-tying 15 three-pointers on 35 attempts. And when they tried to rally back — even cutting the lead to as low as seven points with 1:14 left — the reigning Best Player of the Conference June Mar Fajardo was there to stop them in their tracks.
“They got the ball to June Mar, they hit their shots,” the 59-year-old added; Fajardo had scored eight of his 20 points in the final frame.
“We tried to do something differently, defensively, and they ate us up at the beginning of the game. We tried our best to get into it, but by and large, the game was lost in first five minutes.”
And after absorbing two routs from the three-time Philippine Cup Champions, Cone can’t help but admit that on some nights, the Beermen are overwhelming, especially if they are clicking.
“There’s not much to say. They just beat us up. They showed how much power they have. They just overwhelmed us tonight. We knew it would happen once or twice, but now it’s happened twice,” conceded Cone after the 94-85 rout.
“Again, they’re just overwhelming at times.”
But even with a 1-3 series deficit, the 19-time PBA champion coach remains hopeful that their team, especially their young core, won’t be carried away by the emotions of a Finals series.
“I hope that our team is not worried about drama or do drama. Kevin [Ferrer] is new to our team to understand that yet, but he will,” he shared.
“Deep hole, we got to see if we can climb out of it. Just focus on Game Five and that’s all we’re worried about.”
And in trying to rally back and do what only four teams in the PBA have done, it’s better to start with hope and, with a little luck, the rest will follow.
