Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
    View Today
    Sun, Nov 5

    Cone addresses 'Sagip Kapamilya' accusations after Ginebra loss to SMB

    Cone: 'I assure you I want to beat San Miguel more than anybody .. We just have dead legs tonight'
    Nov 8, 2020
    PHOTO: PBA Images

    SMART CLARK GIGA CITY - Tim Cone said he is aware of those so-called conspiracy theories going around after Barangay Ginebra came out flat in a 66-81 loss to defending PBA Philippine Cup champion San Miguel Beer.

    But the veteran coach simply felt the Kings didn't have the legs to compete even against an injury-hit opponent, even if his burning desire is to beat the biggest thorn in the Kings' bid to win the most prestigious conference the past previous years.

    Cone admitted the 86-79 victory his team pulled off against top contender TnT Tropang Giga took its toll on the Kings.

    "I assure you I want to beat San Miguel more than anybody," said Cone. "We just have dead legs tonight. We were 4-for-31 from three-point line. I don't know what happened with TnT against us. We just have dead legs."

    Here's the interview

    The loss pulled down Barangay Ginebra to a tie with TnT for the top spot at 7-3. The Kings hope to beat Terrafirma on Monday in the second of their back-to-back games to clinch the No. 1 seed heading to the playoffs.

    SEE ALSO
    SEE ALSO

    Ginebra will still take the top seeding even if it ends up with similar record with TnT by virtue of the 'winner over the other' rule.

    If there's anyone that really benefited, it's San Miguel as it improved to a 6-4 record in a four-way bunch with Alaska, Meralco, and Magnolia to remain in contention for a Top 4 finish and a twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs.

    ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓

    A loss could've left the reigning champions on the brink of elimination, thus the perception that the Kings didn't play hard enough to win over their sister team.

    Cone played leading scorer Stanley Pringle just 19 minutes while another Ginebra star, LA Tenorio, went scoreless in a game that saw mostly second-stringers finish the game for the Gin Kings.

    The two-time grand slam winner, however, said by then, he was already thinking about the 'big picture.'

    "The bottomline is I know some of the fans are going to be a little bit upset on us, but I've gotten used to that. But we're just trying to think about the big picture here," said Cone.

    MORE FROM SPIN
    MORE FROM SPIN

      "And the big picture is we're trying to make a huge effort coming back to that game with our key players and then turn around and play KIA tomorrow and risk losing that game because we're dead-tired. So it doesn't make sense."

      CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓
      Watch Now

      Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph

      Read Next
      Watch Now
      Sorry, no results found for
      PHOTO: PBA Images
    • POLL

      • Quiz

        Quiz Result