“We weren’t ready and that’s on me.”
Dejected and defeated.
Second-year Ginebra head coach Tim Cone did not see any positives from the Gin Kings in their Game One loss to the San Miguel Beermen, Friday evening.
“We were horrible all the way through the game, from start to finish,” Cone said after the 82-109 rout.
“We weren’t ready and that’s on me. I should’ve gotten our guys ready and we weren’t ready.”
After leading a 2-1 lead early in the first quarter, Ginebra were not able to get anything going, as the Beermen literally zoomed past them, going on a blistering 16-1 run to blow the game wide open right in the opening salvo.
“It shouldn’t be an excuse whatever happened out there. We just didn’t have anything tonight,” admitted the 59-year-old mentor.
San Miguel led by as much 36 points and held the lead for all but a minute and 28 seconds, as the Gin Kings allowed the Beermen to shoot 53 percent from the field. And as the game progressed, Cone, who was not his usual fiery self, sat dejected on the bench, already formulating a strategy for Game Two.
“Zero. Absolutely no positives,” lamented a dismayed Cone.
“The only positive is it’s over with and we can move forward to Game Two.”
“We know who we are. We know we can play. We had a bad night tonight, they had a great night. They’re very, very good [but] we’re not very, very bad. We wouldn’t be here if we were. We could talk about this game all we want, but the bottom line is we didn’t have it tonight. It’s over with and we move on,” the 19-time PBA champion coach furthered.
But still, the American mentor remained defiant even after absorbing his worst Finals loss since Game 6 of the 1997 Commissioner’s Cup.
“It’s one game. It’s a seven-game series. There’s no pogi points in winning 40 points or 30 points in a series.
“It’s only about W’s and L’s. They got the W, we got the L. They’re one game closer to the championship and we’re one game farther back. It doesn’t matter if you lose by 30 or one point. It’s all the same. We just got to put it away, move forward, and go on. We’re not going to sit back and regret about this one. It’s done,” the three-time Coach of the Year stressed.
“We got to be ready for the next one.”
