Wednesday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum saw Barangay Ginebra tear the Kia Picanto apart for their second straight win. But for head coach Tim Cone, it was not the 21-point victory that makes him smile.
It was the Gin Kings’ brilliant passing that left the multi-titled mentor impressed.
The Barangay, who have reverted to Cone’s triangle offense this 2017 Governor’s Cup, dished out 39 assists — the most in a PBA game in the last 14 years, according to the league’s chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III.
That game, added Mangonon, was between Talk N’ Text Phone Pals and Sta. Lucia Realtors back in the 2003 Reinforced Conference, where the Phone Pals also dished out 39 dimes in their 123-106 win in the battle for third place.
“I’m really proud of that,” shared the 59-year-old tactician of his team’s passing display, after their 120-99 victory. “I’m proud of the way we’ve been assisting the ball. It just shows the unselfish mentality everybody has.”
Eleven Ginebra players tallied at least one assist in the win, with all-around guard Scottie Thompson leading the pack with a game-high 10 assists. And with that, Cone had nothing but praises once more for the sophomore cager.
“LA [Tenorio] is the leader in that but I think the key guy is Scottie,” Cone shared. “He’s so infectious with his passing and everybody wants to do it. Joe [Devance] also loves to pass and Justin [Brownlee] also loves to pass.
“It becomes infectious after a while and guys really look to move the ball. We change good shots into great shots with our ball movement.”
Cone continued to sing praises for the Davao native, even comparing him to Los Angeles Lakers’ rookie Lonzo Ball, as he sees similarities between the two after watching the latter in the 2017 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
“In the upcoming NBA season I think the guy that will finally resemble Scottie Thompson will be Lonzo Ball,” said the three-time Coach of the Year. “I watched him in the Summer League and he reminded me so much of Scottie. They don’t shoot the same way but the way when he started passing the ball, the whole team started passing the ball. The Lakers were fun to watch because the ball was moving like crazy.
“Lonzo Ball goes to the rebounds. He’s a good shooter but an inconsistent shooter. Scottie hasn’t become a consistent shooter yet also. They’re very similar in their styles.
“Scottie is big for his position as well as Lonzo Ball. I think the more you’ll see him the more he reminds you of Scottie. It’s that infectious attitude that he brings to the team,” Cone declared.
