MANILA, Philippines – It was just one of those games for Tim Cone and Barangay Ginebra.
Cone said the Gin Kings were simply outplayed by a razor-sharp TNT side as Ginebra absorbed a 104-88 beating in the opener of the PBA Governors’ Cup finals in Antipolo on Sunday, October 27.
It marked the Gin Kings’ most lopsided loss of this playoffs and their lowest scoring output since they sustained a 131-82 romp at the hands of San Miguel in the elimination round.
“They embarrassed us. Game 1 of the series, they were locked in and we weren’t just locked in as much as we would have liked to be. They took a lot of what we wanted to do away from us,” said Cone.
Ginebra entered the finals as the No. 1 three-point shooting team, averaging 37%.
However, the Gin Kings fired blanks against the vaunted Tropang Giga defense as they shot a dismal 2-of-21 (9.5%) from beyond the arc, even going without a triple for the first three quarters.
By the time Ginebra hit its first trey, TNT already built a sizable cushion that it protected until the final buzzer to draw first blood in the best-of-seven duel.
Guards Scottie Thompson and RJ Abarrientos particularly struggled as they finished with 7 and 5 points, respectively, on a combined 2-of-10 clip from three-point range.
Justin Brownlee paced the Gin Kings with 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, but he also struggled from long distance after going 0-of-2 on three-pointers and 1-of-5 on four-pointers.
“We weren’t locked in the whole game and they beat us up individually, one-on-one, and really embarrassed our defense,” said Cone.
“You hate to have it happen in the first game of a championship series, but we’re going to have to turn around and move on and see what we can do to change our fortunes in Game 2.”
The Governors’ Cup champion in 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2021, Cone and Ginebra hope to recapture the crown after being dethroned by TNT last year.
Game 2 is on Wednesday, October 30, at the Araneta Coliseum. – Rappler.com
