WAS that lethal 22-0 run unleashed by San Miguel against Barangay Ginebra in Game 4 of the PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals the worst for a Tim Cone-coached team?
The 68-year-old Cone thinks so.
As hard as he tries recalling, Cone couldn’t think of any game incident where his team was at the receiving end of a fatal scoring blast like what the Beermen dropped against the Kings in the 108-102 loss Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
READ: Cone says Ginebra momentum 'got killed' by Scottie foul on King
“Not the time to have a meltdown. We gave up 46 points in the third quarter. I honestly don’t remember any time in my career, I may be wrong, where we gave up 46 points in a quarter,” said the most accomplished coach in PBA history.
“Not in my 35 years, 36 years of coaching,” added Cone, who began his PBA career in 1989 with Alaska.
That telling run obviously, was the turning point of the game where the Beermen were facing outright elimination, helping them overcome a 17-point deficit and take full control of the match.
San Miguel outscored Ginebra in the third, 46-18, on the way to levelling the best-of-five series and forcing a deciding game for the remaining semifinals berth.
That 22-0 run was truly something special for the Beermen.
According to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III, the scoring outburst was the fourth all-time longest unanswered run in SMB’s franchise history and tied for the 14th all-time in the league.
It was also the second longest unanswered run by a team this season since Magnolia engineered a 23-0 surge during the Commissioner’s Cup in a 127-94 beating of Terrafirma.
The Beermen’s 46 points in the third quarter meanwhile, were the fifth most by any team this conference, and the second most in a period by San Miguel this conference after exploding for 39 points in the third period of a 143-105 win over Titan Ultra last July 29.
“They’re a great team. We knew they were going to come back, and they came back a little harder than we thought they would,” was all Cone could said about San Miguel following Ginebra’s loss.
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