UNACCEPTABLE.
That was how Tim Cone described the situation of defending champion Barangay Ginebra is in after losing a shot at a twice-to-beat advantage and teetering on another possible No. 8 seeding heading to the 2021 PBA Governors Cup playoffs.
A big blow to the Kings’ bid came in the form of a 115-103 loss to NLEX Road Warriors on Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum that relegated them to a tie for seventh to eighth places with Phoenix on even 5-5 win-loss records.
For a team that has won the season-ending conference three times the last four years and given the winning tradition of the franchise that prides itself with its ‘Never-Say-Die’ tradition, Cone admitted Ginebra's current standing is hard to fathom.
The champion coach noted how the Kings also ended up as the No. 8 seed during the last Philippine Cup bubble in Bacolor, Pampanga after beating Phoenix in a playoff. TNT beat the Kings in the quarterfinals to promptly send them home.
“We have to figure it out now. We lost our chance to get to the Top 4, and now we’d bounce and see if we can get into the Top 8. That’s two conferences in a row, that’s too many in a row. That’s too many,” said Cone.
'Unacceptable'
“For the kind of team we have, and the kind of organization we have, that’s unacceptable.”
While the Kings won their last two games prior to the loss to NLEX, the teams they’ve beaten were Blackwater and Terrafirma, ballclubs that are actually now out of contention.
Barangay Ginebra’s final game on Sunday will be against Rain or Shine, again a team that is no longer in the running for a quarterfinals berth.
“I am at a loss for words. I’m really quite discouraged with the way we’re playing. I really don’t use that word discourage, but I’m really discouraged with the way we’re playing," said the two-time grand slam winner.
"Defensively we’ve been bad all conference, and it shows in our metrix, and it showed up again tonight in the second half,” said Cone about the Kings, who led by as many as 15 in the first half but failed to keep the pace.
“Again I’m lost for words. Wish I had some solutions.”
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