BARANGAY Ginebra coach Tim Cone paid tribute to TNT for its gallant fight in the PBA Philippine Cup finals inside the Smart Clark Giga City bubble.
Cone said TNT played a superb championship series despite missing key pieces to the team after Jayson Castro and Bobby Ray Parks went down with injuries. Castro missed Wednesday’s game due to bone spurs in his knee while Parks had not played after reinjuring his calf in Game 1.
Cone said the TNT coaching staff led by active consultant Mark Dickel and head coach Bong Ravena got the best out of their players.
“I thought that the coaching staff of Talk ‘N Text coached brilliantly with what they had. Truly, brilliantly with what they had,” said Cone.
The wait continues for TNT, which has not won a PBA crown since capturing the 2015 Commissioner's Cup title.
Cone said he knows how tough it is to win championship without its main players, being on the other side of the coin where his teams had to battle injuries for championships.
“I know that a lot of people are going to look at Talk ‘N Text and say they had injuries which is absolutely true. Its really hard to coach and win without your best players on the floor especially with no time to really adjust and change your system or whatever needs to be done,” said Cone.
With Parks and Castro out, Roger Pogoy and Poy Erram tried to extend the series with their play. Pogoy had 23 points and eight rebounds, with Erram tallying 18 points and 15 rebounds.
In contrast, Ginebra got healthy at the right time with LA Tenorio winning the finals MVP despite being out of shape entering the bubble due to an operation to remove his appendix.
“Our health is our weapon. If we feel that we are healthy, we always have a chance to win, we always have a chance to compete for championships,” said Cone.
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