Twenty-time champion head coach Tim Cone conceded to rival mentor Leo Austria following the result of the 2018 Philippine Cup semifinals’ Game Four: a complete 102-81 demolition by the San Miguel Beermen of the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
“I don’t really have that much to say. They just took it to us. It was brilliant coaching by coach Leo. They played well but that comes from the bench. On the other hand, it was terrible coaching by me,” said the multi-titled strategist.
“I was just totally out-coached and outclassed today, but we move forward from it.”
The adjustment that Austria made that led to the one-sided show was the way he devised the Beermen’s zone defense, which made it tough and rough for the Gin Kings to orchestrate on offense.
“They came out and we didn’t figure out their zone early.
“We gave that zone life and never got it going,” rued Cone, as his wards shot just six field goals in the fourth quarter. Ginebra shot 32-of-74 from the floor overall.
Another thing that made it a long night for Cone and the Barangay was the way San Miguel shot on offense. The Beermen came out firing with a 52-percent shooting clip, hitting 12 of their 25 shots from beyond the arc.
“Defensively, they attacked us really well and shot the ball well. Everything just kind of mushroomed today. But it really comes down to brilliant adjustments by coach Leo that we weren’t just prepared for. We should’ve been but we weren’t,” Cone added.
“And that’s on me.”
And Cone has less than 48 hours to device a plan to keep their campaign alive.
