By JONAS TERRADO
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel coach Tim Cone admitted that talks surrounding a suspected case of COVID-19 inside the PBA bubble was discussed in the hours leading up to Wednesday’s win over Phoenix Super LPG.
Much of the discussion in and out of the PBA bubble centered on a game official being quarantined at the Athlete’s Village in Capas, Tarlac after yielding a positive result during a recent swab test, forcing the league to also isolate those who have been in close contact with him.
PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial later said that the official appears to have been “false positive” after undergoing an antigen test upon arriving at the isolation facility in Capas.
Cone said news about the suspected case was a major discussion on Ginebra’s Viber group, but was glad that the whole team was able to keep its focus on the task at hand.
“There was obviously a lot of talk about it on our Viber group,” Cone said after the Kings’ 86-71 win at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center.
“There was a total room quarantine today so we got all of our news on Viber,” added Cone, referring to the league’s decision to temporarily halt all activities inside Quest Hotel in Clark. “So it was a lot of talk, and then we just said that let’s put it away, let’s go win a game and we’ll talk about it after.”
Ginebra took control of the game from the second quarter onwards to extend its unbeaten start and tie idle TNT for the lead.
It was also the first 4-0 start under Cone and the franchise’s best start since a similar 4-0 record during Ginebra’s run to its first PBA title in the 1986 Open Conference.
