By REYNALD MAGALLON
Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone admitted that the frustrating night got the better of him and it simply spilled it out to the referees that led to his ejection in the waning minutes of the Kings’ 78-81 loss to the Phoenix Fuel Masters.
Cone was ejected after getting assessed with his second technical foul for continuous complaining, even entering the court to talk to the referees. The Kings were still down, 70-80 when the veteran mentor got tossed out with 67 seconds left in the game.
Turns out the calls from the referees weren’t the only thing that Cone was frustrated about. It was just the final string that led to the multi-titled coach to blow his top
“It was a difficult night altogether. Very frustrating. It was a frustrating night in many, many respects,” said Cone.
“The way we started the game. We battled back, and then every time we battled back, we ran into weird calls. It spilled out to the referees, but the bottom line is we didn’t play well,” he added.
The Kings came out flat in their first game of the PBA Governors’ Cup, trailing 9-28 in the opening frame. Ginebra did show some semblance of fight but just couldn’t break into the Fuel Masters’ seven-point lead barrier.
At least, until before Cone got ejected.
The exit of the multi-titled mentor seemed to have fired up the Kings as they went on an 8-1 rally to come within three, 78-81 with six seconds left in the game.
Ginebra actually had the chance to win the game in the final possession but Jeremiah Gray missed the potential game-winning four.
If there’s something good Ginebra could take from the forgettable debut, it’s the fight of the second unit according to Cone.
“That’s why I think our bench players were so much better than our starters. Hopefully, that will help turn things around for us.”
