Cone expects vets to bounce back as Ginebra stares at early exit vs Meralco
MANILA, Philippines – Tim Cone banks on his veterans to bounce back as Barangay Ginebra tries to stave off elimination by dragging Meralco to a do-or-die clash in the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals.
Cone said the Gin Kings were simply outclassed by a determined Bolts side which earned a convincing 93-82 win in Game 1 of their best-of-three series on Sunday, July 24.
“It was a little embarrassing out there. They got everything they wanted,” Cone said as Ginebra teeters on the brink of losing to Meralco for the first time in a playoff series.
“A lot of our vets did not step up. We need them to step up and play well in the playoffs and they did not just get that.”
Reigning MVP Scottie Thompson proved to be the lone bright spot in the loss after chalking up 29 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.
The same could not be said about Best Player of the Conference contenders Japeth Aguilar and Christian Standhardinger, who finished with a combined 22 points and 9 rebounds.
For context, Aguilar averaged 16.7 points and 8.4 rebounds to end the elimination round, while Standhardinger normed 13.5 points and 9.7 rebounds.
LA Tenorio then went scoreless in 32 minutes, although he contributed 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
“It is on us to get better prepared next time out. We just did not play well at any facet of the game,” said Cone.
While the Gin Kings are 6-0 against the Bolts in a playoff series, Meralco has not lost to Ginebra this conference, winning both of their two encounters by an average margin of 14 points.
On the verge of breaking their playoff curse, the Bolts eye a conference sweep on Friday, July 29 – an event Cone and the Gin Kings seek to avoid.
“They’re doing something that is causing us some problems that we have to try and figure out through video,” Cone said. – Rappler.com