By JONAS TERRADO
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel coach Tim Cone felt his team didn’t show composure during the crucial stages of Game 3 of the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals that ended with Meralco taking an 83-74 win at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Gin Kings lost a 13-point second quarter lead, then saw themselves struggle offensively while committing countless turnovers late in the contest that disappointed most of the record 16,104 fans inside the Pasay City showplace.
“Bottomline is we panicked down the stretch,” a visibly frustrated Cone told reporters in a quick interview after the game held Sunday, April 10.
“We panicked down the stretch and obviously we didn’t hit our shots,” added Cone, whose team was held to their lowest scoring game of the conference.
Ginebra made half of its 38 attempts in the first half that led to a 43-30 lead in the second period and 48-40 at the break.
But the Gin Kings began to miss plenty of shots after halftime while their three-point shooting remained cold, even as the Bolts capitalized on their stops to convert timely baskets and eventually take the lead for good near the halfway mark of the fourth.
Justin Brownlee was 2-of-12 in the second half and ended the night with 19 points while Ginebra as a whole made just four of its three-point attempts.
Five of Ginebra’s 16 turnovers also came in the final seven minutes of the contest, at the same time when Meralco had complete control of the match.
Cone also felt that the Gin Kings didn’t have too much energy during the closing minutes which he cited with how they were able to weather the Bolts’ rally in their 99-93 win in Game 2.
“We were going for hero ball shots and not trying to get good shots,” Cone said. “We got a little bit selfish, we weren’t moving the ball and I think most of all, we got tired legs.
“We were tired in terms of the mental part of the game. We took a lot to take Game 2, we just didn’t have enough to go down the stretch in Game 3, and I worry about that going into the game.”
The Gin Kings mentor is hoping that the two-day break will allow them to recharge and put up a better showing Wednesday in Game 4 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We got a couple of days now, we’ll see how it works,” he said.
The scores:
MERALCO 83 — Bishop 30, Newsome 20, Maliksi 10, Black 8, Almazan 6, Quinto 3, Banchero 2, Hugnatan 2, Baclao 2, Hodge 0.
GINEBRA 74 – Brownlee 19, Standhardinger 17, Thompson 11, Tenorio 11, Chan 9, Pinto 5, Devance 2, Tolentino 0, Mariano 0.
Quarters: 22-27, 40-48, 62-61, 83-74.
