Game 1 importante sa isang serye — Cone

MANILA, Philippines — Sa isang best-of-five se­ries ay mahalaga sa isang koponan ang kaagad makopo ang Game One.

Ito ang opinyon ni coach Tim Cone sa pagsa­gupa ng nagdedepensang Barangay Ginebra sa NLEX sa kanilang semifi­nals showdown sa PBA Go­vernors’ Cup na magsi­simula sa Miyerkules sa MOA Arena sa Pasay City.

“You always want to try to set the tone in Game One, especially in a five-game series,” wika ng two-time PBA Grand Slam champion coach.

“It’s a quick series, so that Game One is crucial.”

Dalawang beses tinalo ng No. 6 Gin Kings, may ‘twice-to-beat’ disadvantage sa quarterfinals, ang No. 3 TNT Tropang Giga, 104-92 at 115-95, para uma­bante sa semis.

Bumangon naman ang No. 2 Road Warriors, nag­­bitbit ng ‘twice-to-beat’ bo­nus, mula sa 79-93 pag­ka­talo sa No. 7 Alaska Aces matapos kunin ang 96-80 tagumpay para tapusin ang kanilang quarterfinals duel.

Pinatumba na ng NLEX ang Ginebra, 115-103, no­ong Marso 4 sa eliminas­yon.

Marami ang nawalan ng paniniwalang makaka­pa­sok ang Gin Kings sa se­mis.

“It’s been a trial trying to get everything back to where it was two conferen­ces ago, Having Justin (Brownlee) back helped us out,” ani Cone. “We went through a bad stretch when we came (from the COVID-19 surge). We were 3-0 and then we lost four games in a row. All to our heels.”

Ngunit bumalikwas ang ‘never-say-die’ team pa­ra buhayin ang tsansang mai­depensa ang kanilang Go­vernors’ Cup crown na inangkin nila noong 2019 kasunod ang pandem­ya.

“I think people tend to for­get that we won two championships before and then we had a letdown in the last conference. It’s kind of normal, it’s natural to have that kind of letdown,” sabi ng 64-anyos na pupuntiryahin ang kanyang ika-24 PBA championship.

Magtutuos din sa isang best-of-five semis series ang Magnolia at Meralco, ang No. 1 at No. 4 team sa eliminasyon.