BARANGAY Ginebra battled its way despite a flat Game 3 performance against San Miguel and lost, 91-85, in their PBA Philippine Cup semifinals series Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Coach Tim Cone was quick to own up for the defeat that had the Kings reeling to their second straight loss to go down in the best-of-seven series, 2-1.
“That’s on me. Didn’t get our guys ready, locked in. I got to do a better job getting the guys locked in and get ready to play,” said the Ginebra mentor on his way of the Big Dome just half an hour before Saturday midnight.
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He admitted it was a struggle for the Kings all night as they kept coming back from one huge San Miguel deficit to another, only to be stymied by a counter run by the defending champions once they managed to close in.
“We battled and fought all night. We just didn’t play a good game,” said Cone.
“We lacked poise, we lacked an idea of what we wanted to do out there. We looked confused at times. Not just a good game (for us).”
Cone said it’s not just enough for Ginebra to just merely fight and show heart while engaging San Miguel in a toe-to-toe battle if it is to win the series and advance to the finals.
“That’s not good enough against a team like San Miguel. We just can’t come in and battle and fight. You got to play great and we didn’t play great tonight,” added the Ginebra coach.
“Again that’s on me and I got to figure it out.”
The semis series shifts to Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday for Game 4.
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