By REYNALD MAGALLON
Ginebra may have drawn first blood in the Finals series but head coach Tim Cone is not being complacent against TNT come Game 2 of the best-of-seven series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, June 5.
Tip-off of the clash is at 7:30 p.m. with the Kings aiming to correct their mistakes that allowed the Tropang 5G comeback in their Game 1 102-100 escape.
“We’ve got to figure everybody out a little better,” said Cone as TNT after trailing by eight early in the fourth suddenly led by five against Ginebra in the waning minutes.
“Obviously, they found some things they could attack. They attacked us in the post. They were trying to spread out and attack us. As much as RJ made those two four-pointers, the one Nambatac made was huge,” the veteran coach added.
Although his team came out with the first win in the series, Cone stressed they cannot commit the same mistakes they had in the final frame — not against a team that is as talented as TNT.
For one, it’s only one game of the series which he expects to go the distance.
“It’s just game one. We lost game one in the last series against Rain or Shine and ended up winning the series in six games. That just goes to show you how little game one means in terms of the big picture,” he added.
Justin Brownlee and RJ Abarrientos will surely remain as the focal point of offense for the Kings although contributions from the likes of Troy Rosario, Stephen Holt and Scottie Thompson would be a big boost since they are expecting a big bounce back from TNT.
Brownlee and Abarrientos combined for 47 points in the series opener.
For the part of the Tropang 5G, Chris McCullough, who had 25 points and 14 rebounds in Game 1, will need more help from the rest of his crew, especially from Calvin Oftana, who only had 12 points in the contest.
He actually had the chance to play the hero in the first game of the series off an alley-oop play with 0.6 seconds left but missed the shot that could have sent the game to an extra period.
Nambatac, RR Pogoy and Jordan Heading should also remain in their A-games if they wish to tie the series against Ginebra
