Marc Pingris found himself in the wrong end of a heated dead-ball altercation with Ronjay Buenafe early in the Star Hotshots’ 101-94 over Globalport, which merited a technical foul, and triggered a tongue-lashing from Head Coach Tim Cone, who turned furious after the gesture.
Cone immediately sent Pingris out and shouted at the Hotshots forward on the bench, trying to wake him up and pushing him to keep his focus in the game.
Cone later explained it was an “unnecessary” gesture from Pingris, and related it to what happened to Ginebra’s loss to Alaska when the Kings lost steam and gave up a 16-point lead.
“If we are down by 16, I would understand the frustration, but if we were up, it was unnecessary. We have to keep our focus moving forward,” Cone said.
“If you watched the Ginebra game, it was the same, they got into it, and the lead disappeared. You give momentum to the other team. If you are ahead you don’t do that kind of stuff.”
The Star Hotshots mentor added he appreciates the energy of players like Pingris, although sometimes they go over the limit, which made him lose control and shout in front of his ward.
“We just lost our discipline, so I told Ping, you have to keep your discipline. Ping is very emotional; Marqus (Blakely) and I spend probably 70 percent of my coaching telling them to settle down,” Cone joked. “They have that great energy that makes them so good, but they go over the top sometimes just like an Abueva or like a Belga.”
“They are high energy guys, and they let their emotions run hard. I just tried to keep them calm and focused. It is too easy to get distracted in a big game like that.”
