TIM Cone and Brian Goorjian shook hands, hugged it out, and chatted briefly as the buzzer sounded to the PBA Commissioner’s Cup encounter between Barangay Ginebra and Bay Area Dragons on Sunday night.
No compliment or high praises were said between the two champion coaches, just a simple thank you and acknowledgement at how both teams respected each other and the game of basketball.
“He said he was happy we called the dogs off. We didn’t keep on pushing and pushing. We took Justin (Brownlee) and some of the guys off the floor. So he just thanked me for that,” said Cone when asked about what he and Goorjian talked about at center court of the Philsports Arena following the Kings’ 111-93 win.
See: Brownlee explodes for 46 as Ginebra deals Bay Area first PBA loss
After a tight first half, the Kings broke away for good in the third quarter as Brownlee exploded for 18 points and equaled the Dragons’ output for the period, allowing Ginebra to outscore the opposition, 35-18.
That allowed the Kings to stretch a slim two-point spread at the half to 85-66 entering the fourth quarter.
Goorjian appeared to have thrown in the white towel at that point as he began to pull out debuting import Andrew Nicholson before the start of the final period. Kobe Lam and Hayden Blankley followed suit a few minutes later.
The move was not lost on Cone.
“He took his starters off early because the game was getting out of hand. And he has other games to play and they just played two nights ago so they’re a little worn down,” said the Ginebra coach.
“So that’s why we kind of broke away because he pulled his starters off the floor, conserving them to fight another day.”
Cone would do the same midway through the final quarter, initially substituting Brownlee as the Kings led, 100-77.
LA Tenorio, Scottie Thompson, and Christian Standhardinger were also pulled out as Cone gave playing time to other players like Raymond Aguilar and Sidney Onwubere.
“You know me I do the same thing all the time. So I could totally understand it,” added Cone of Goorjian’s situation.
Despite the blowout win which was the Dragon's first after winning four straight games, Cone’s respect for Goorjian hardly diminished.
“It’s a real honor to go up against coach Goorjian,” he said. “My gosh, I’ve been hearing his name for years and the fact that I’m even in the same flow with him is such an honor. I guess for tonight, I get the bragging rights."
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