By JONAS TERRADO
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s current slump in the PBA Governors’ Cup has led to dubious first for coach Tim Cone since handling the league’s most popular ball club.
The Gin Kings’ 110-102 loss to the San Miguel Beermen on Sunday marked the first time they lost four in a row under Cone, a skid that came after starting the conference with three straight wins.
Like in previous defeats to the Magnolia Pambansang Manok, Meralco and TNT, Ginebra had to play catch up in the second half but to no avoid and fell eighth spot with a 3-4 record.
Injuries have hampered the Gin Kings’ campaign, with the flashy guard Stanley Pringle the most notable.
Pringle has been ruled out of the Governors’ Cup after suffering a meniscus injury and he’s been sorely missing since playing in Ginebra’s win over Alaska last Dec. 12.
Sidney Onwubere, who Ginebra signed from NorthPort before the conference,
Scottie Thompson, LA Tenorio, Christian Standhardinger and Japeth Aguilar are now back from various injuries but the Gin Kings continued to slide.
Also not enough was the individual play of resident import Justin Brownlee, who scored 40 points to move into ninth on the all-time scoring list among imports.
But Brownlee played all but two minutes as he tried to carry the Gin Kings back against the Beermen before going down in defeat.
Ginebra opened the tournament with a 3-0 card, including a pair of close games against Alaska (80-77) and Phoenix Super LPG (125-121 in overtime) before the tailspin began.
Magnolia played the role of “Grinch” on Christmas Day as Ginebra fell 117-94, a defeat that disappointed most of the 4,800 fans that went to the Big Dome.
The Gin Kings would not play until 50 days later when they were defeated by the Meralco Bolts, 101-95, on the eve of Valentine’s Day.
Five days later saw Ginebra succumb to TNT’s fiery second half shooting from three-point land which resulted in a 119-92 loss – its worst showing this conference.
