Tim Cone doesn’t want to look at Ginebra’s start to the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup as ‘up-and-down’ after absorbing another loss Friday.
It’s just that the Kings’ schedule has been tough, which is taking its toll on the perennial contenders, as shown by their current 1-2 card.
“It’s not really, to me, up and down; to me, I’ve seen some really positive things. It’s been a tough schedule,” the champion bench tactician lamented to reporters on the heels of their 89-75 defeat to Meralco at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The crowd darlings are in the midst of a challenging stretch as their first five games of the tilt were and will be against fellow conglomerate-owned sides.
Firstly, the crew opened the league’s golden season against Magnolia and then faced TNT — assignments which they split.
Now, after the Bolts, up next for Cone and his charges would be defending conference champions San Miguel on October 26 at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, before taking on NLEX on November 2 in Antipolo.
“We played Magnolia, Talk N Text, Meralco, then San Miguel next. We knew this was gonna be tough to start,” reflected Cone.
(C) PBA Images
It is taxing for everyone within the Barangay, and that problem rose against Meralco. The team blew a lead as big as 16 — which they posted twice during the third — after entering a lengthy drought in the fourth.
From leading 56-40, the Bolts slowly chipped away at the gap. They finally took the lead early in the deciding chapter before unloading a 16-0 run toward an 83-69 lead with 1:32 left, all but completing the come-from-behind win.
Cone rued the lack of support the starters received from the second group, with RJ Abarrientos the only bright spot off the bench with a team-high 14 points.
“We really didn’t play very good complementary basketball tonight in terms of getting the proper playing time for everybody coming from that tough win against Talk N Text. Our first group was just worn out,” he said.
“We needed more from our bench to have a chance to win this game tonight, and we didn’t get that,” added the 67-year-old bench strategist.
Then again, it’s a result of the predicament they’re currently in, although Cone still saw some positives that they could carry with them moving ahead.
“I’ve seen a lot of positive things that I like. I thought we played, like I said, a tremendous 32 minutes in this basketball game; we just couldn’t sustain and finish it. But there were reasons why we got that lead,” he said.
“We just lost our discipline in the end. If we were getting blown out every night or whatever, or we’re coming out soft, we’re not playing well… You know, we didn’t play well in that first game but we played well the last two games.
“I thought we played well tonight,” Cone continued. “But we just couldn’t keep our momentum going. So to me it’s not up and down. We’re on an upward trajectory. But like I said, it’s a tough schedule. We’re playing tough teams.”
