TIM Cone was gracious in defeat as he tipped off his hat to TNT for winning the PBA Commissioner’s Cup championship at the expense of Barangay Ginebra on Friday night.
“They made the big plays down the stretch and we didn’t. That’s all I got to say. They deserved it more than we did,” said the most accomplished coach in league history after losing a hard-fought, deciding Game 7 in overtime, 87-83.
READ TNT outlasts Ginebra in Game 7 classic to win back-to-back titles
The Game 7 loss was the first for Cone since the 2009 Philippine Cup when he was still with Alaska and ironically, also came at the hands of the TNT franchise, with coach Chot Reyes likewise the one at the helm.
It was also a déjà vu for Cone, who squandered a 3-2 lead in the finals for only the second time, which also happened during that same All-Filipino title series 16 years ago.
For a while, the momentum appeared to have shifted to the Kings’ side when they jumped to a 70-64 lead with 8:20 left in regulation on two free throws by Stephen Holt.
But the Tropang Giga battled their way back and took a 79-76 lead with 21 seconds to go, before Justin Brownlee worked his magic anew with a trying three-pointer to the delight of the huge 21, 274 crowd that packed the Big Dome
TNT then went on a 6-0 run to start the overtime play, capped by Glenn Khobuntin’s corner three-pointer to make it an 85-79 lead which it never relinquished.
“It could have gone either way, and it went to them,” added Cone about one of the most memorable Game 7s ever in the 49-year-history of the PBA.
“Those are classic finals, it went into overtime in seven games. I don’t remember that happening before.”
For the record, it was actually the first Game 7 that was decided in extra period in the last 10 years, or since TNT beat Rain or Shine in double overtime to win the 2015 Commissioner’s Cup.
Whatever, it’s still a loss for Barangay Ginebra.
“Bottom line is we lost and they deserved it,” said Cone.
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