By REYNALD MAGALLON
Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone was naturally displeased with the way Game 1 turned out for the Kings in their PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup semifinal series against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
His team was seemingly in control in the contest, until his charges allowed the Elasto Painters to get into their rhythm from the distance and go into their patented running game down the stretch.
The result: A narrow 111-115 loss in the contest that saw them led by as many as 10 in the final frame.
And the veteran coach did not need to think too hard to point out what went wrong for Ginebra.
“We didn’t have much discipline,” stressed Cone.
The multi-titled mentor pointed out that the Kings simply allowed the Elasto Painters to get into their high-octane game in the last five minutes.
Ginebra, to be fair, was doing great for the first three and a half quarters, until Jaylen Johnson brought life to ROS’ fight with three-straight triples to come within one, 93-94.
Not only that spurt cut the deficit for Rain or Shine but it also gave them enough momentum to jumpstart their running game. The Elasto Painters eventually outlasted the Kings in the end game on the back of a searing 13-4 finishing kick.
“They hit the bigger shot and they hit the bigger play down the stretch. Bottomline, we got them to their running game and we got too many turnovers. We got to be better locked in next time,” said Cone.
“If we continue to be like that we’re not gonna win many games in this series. We got to be tougher, we got to be better, we got to be more disciplined,” he added.
Game 2 of the series is on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
