ANTIPOLO CITY – Barangay Ginebra lost to guest team Eastern of Hong Kong. But rather than rue the lost opportunity to post a three-game win streak, Ginebra coach Tim Cone said he wasn't too disappointed with the result.
Why?
It's because of the manner by which Ginebra lost the game. The team was fighting all the way, had a woeful 3-point scoring and yet nearly upended the visitors, its bid ending after Scottie Thompson threw a Hail Mary that missed to tie the game.
READ Eastern escapes with a win over weary, misfiring Ginebra
Thompson's errant shot was the 19th of the 20 that Ginebra unleashed and yet the scoreline showed just a 93-90 loss for Ginebra in the Commisioner's Cup
Overall, the Kings shot a miserable 5.3 percent from three-point range and just 31 percent overall, but Cone accepted the result gladly, calling it "a good loss," if ever there's such a thing.
“This is a game that we wanted to win because we’re representing the league,” Cone said. “But you know, you’re going to have a good loss, which is a good loss for us.”
Ginebra played catch-up most of the way as Eastern kept the Kings at bay with its spot-on three-point shooting which was an impressive 50 percent (12-of-24).
Hayden Blankley was the most consistent among Eastern players from the three-point range, firing 5-of-9, followed by big man Ramon Cao with 3-of-6, and Siu Wing Chan and Steven Guinchard with 2-of-2 and 1-of-1, respectively.
“They played great, they shot the ball well,” said Cone of Eastern.
The Kings were playing their third game in five days and the fatigue must have caught up with them.
“We just couldn’t get our legs underneath us after playing two games in the last couple of days. We basically did everything we could to lose the game,” Cone said.
Yet, the Ginebra coach loved the fightback the Kings showed despite struggling to get their rhythm.
“We kept battling and fighting. We willed ourselves to stay in the game even though we weren’t playing well. So that bodes well for us down the line,” said Cone.
Ginebra won’t have the luxury of rest yet as it returns to the court on Wednesday when it battles winless Terrafirma.
In all, it would be the Kings’ fourth game in a week.
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