BARANGAY Ginebra coach Tim Cone hopes his team would still muster enough energy to pull off another win in Game Four to equalize the PBA 49th Season Governors’ Cup finals series.
The Gin Kings finally took a win in their championship showdown with the Tropang Giga after an 85-73 win last Friday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum, but Cone said it will go for naught if they lose in Game Four.
“This one won’t mean much if we don’t get the one on Sunday,” said Cone. “Obviously, we had to expand a lot of energy to win this. Hopefully, we can find a way to get that energy to play on Sunday.”
Cone lauded the effort of his players, who provided the energy even as they were given more minutes on the court. Before the postgame interview with reporters began, Cone even apologized to Scottie Thompson, who joined him at the press room as he was also named as the best player of the match, for their long minutes on the floor.
“I just apologized to Scottie because I’ve been playing him and Justin and Japeth so many minutes. Just like a wet towel wrenching out all the water and they are getting real dry there, not so much water left in that rag,” Cone said.
READ: Tim Cone heeds call to extend Ginebra rotation
Although his 32 minutes on the floor in Game Three was a actually a finals low, Thompson logged 34 and 41 minutes in the first two games.
The same can be said about Justin Brownlee, who played 43, 46, and 44 minutes in the first three games, and Japeth Aguilar, who each played 30 minutes in the first two games before it rose to 34 last Sunday. Brownlee even had a mild case of cramps in Game Three, but still delivered in the final stretch of the match up on offense and defense.
Stephen Holt, meanwhile, was on the floor in Game Three for 40 minutes.
Barangay Ginebra though made an effort to expand its rotation in Game Three by giving LA Tenorio and Joe Devance floor appearance last Friday, and the two made an impact with Tenorio wounding up with nine points and four steals and Devance logging 15 minutes in his first game in the finals.
Game Four could be a turning point as it could be either a 3-1 lead for TNT or 2-2 with Barangay Ginebra forcing a tie before taking a valuable two-day break.
Cone said the current stretch where teams only get a one-day break is the most crucial for his team.
“It’s tough when you are in the finals and you are playing Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. It’s a real grind to the players,” said Cone.
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