Even if he can sulk about what had transpired Saturday night, coach Tim Cone still stuck to the positives he saw from the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s loss to the San Miguel Beermen in Game Five of the 2018 Philippine Cup semifinals.
“I thought we did a great battle,” said Cone after their conference-ending 94-100 defeat at the Cuneta Astrodome.
The 20-time champion tactician was particularly proud of the way some of his Gin Kings delivered in the series. Even without Greg Slaughter, his team fought valiantly, going toe-to-toe with the high-powered Beermen.
Leading the stand was Japeth Aguilar, who averaged 26.6 points and 8.6 rebounds in the series.
“Japeth really stepped up,” said Cone, as Aguilar poured 32 points on 59.1 percent shooting in the loss. “We got great performances from Prince [Caperal] and Raymond [Aguilar]. Sol [Mercado] played real well tonight.
“Scottie [Thompson] was just… Scottie was incredible all series long,” added the 60-year-old mentor, as Thompson produced a triple-double of 10 points, 16 rebounds, and 16 assists in Game Five.
“So I’m real[ly] proud of our guys.”
Add to that, according to Cone, the fact that Ginebra — despite stretching the best-of-seven series by just one game — posed a real threat to San Miguel.
“Despite not having Greg, I thought we did a great battle,” said the veteran bench strategist. “And one of the coaches said to me what would it be like if they didn’t have June Mar, how hard it would be for them. It was that way for us.”
The only thing that makes Cone feel bad about the loss the thought that he has failed to help his team get victories.
“I’m angry that I didn’t do enough for them, couldn’t win the games,” lamented Cone. “Some of the games we should have won down the stretch – Game Two (102-104), [and] tonight. But you know, those things happen.
“So I’ll be angry at myself and I’ll be real proud of our guys.”
