Beermen have edge but Kings unbowed

MANILA, Philippines - The Barangay Ginebra Kings were horrible in Game One but coach Tim Cone wasn’t disheartened, vowing they would not allow that ugly game to define them.

San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria agreed it was just one game, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s a 40-point blowout or a one-point decision.

The Beermen, however, enjoy the momentum and the psychological edge as they clash with the Gin Kings in Game Two of their PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven titular playoff at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City tonight.

Game time is at 6:30 p.m. with SMB coach Leo Austria, a proud son the nearby Sariaya town, hoping to attract their own crowd.

“Kahit one-fourth lang,” said Austria, resigned to playing against the crowd in the entire series.

Austria and his troops brace for a Ginebra fightback after the Beermen took the thrill out of an expected dogfight Friday night, annihilating the Kings, 109-82, in the series opener at the MOA Arena.

Austria noted Cone’s move to rest his top guns with long minutes left in the contest.

“It’s a ploy, a strategy. They were already preparing their guys for the next game,” said Austria. “It’s just the first game. Knowing coach Tim, they’re now preparing another game plan. They will come back strong in Game Two.”

Truly, the Kings are looking in that direction.

“(Game One) was a difficult loss to handle, but if anything our guys have proven is that they are resilient and tough-minded. We’ll bounce back,” said Cone.

“It was a real clunker. Certainly it was embarrassing and frustrating and thankfully it was Game One and not Game Seven. Our guys have to understand that we have to be at the very top of our game to have a chance to beat SMB, and needless to say, we were far, far from it,” Cone also said.

“But, as in life, it’s not how hard you get knocked down, it’s how you get back on your feet that counts,” Cone added.

The Kings can look back at their conquest of the Beermen in their Governors Cup best-of-five semis series last year.

After losing Game Four by 29 points, Kings bounced back with a 25-point blowout win two nights later to claim the series.

The Kings have fought tough adversities in this tourney alone, needing to overcome the Alaska Milk Aces’ twice-to-beat advantage in their quarters matchup then fighting back from 0-2 and 2-3 deficits in their Final Four face-off with the Star Hotshots.

“It’s a blowout but we know who we are and we know how well we can play,” said Cone.