Cone credits record crowd in Ginebra's PBA title conquest
MANILA, Philippines – Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone might be the winningest mentor in PBA history, but there are still some things that can surprise him after decades in the league.
One thing new he saw on Sunday was a new level of play from his Gin Kings in a title-clinching victory over guest team Bay Area Dragons at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
In front of a record-breaking crowd that exceeded 54,000, Cone admitted that his players were performing a great deal more than he expected.
An all-around team effort, Cone could not pin the credit on just one or two players.
"We knew what we had to do out there, it was working for us, and we stayed with it. And just, so much credit goes around. I can't really point at one guy or one moment or one time. It's all spread around," said Cone.
"I wish we knew exactly what geared us to play this well tonight. If I did, I'd put into a bottle and sell it to all the other coaches but I don't know. I don't know what we did," he added.
But the decorated tactician did know a thing or two on what helped his team play the way that they did: their sixth may have had on the stands.
One of the richer franchises in terms of fanbase, Cone said that the sheer energy of their supporters in the crowd lifted his team to somewhere he didn't think they could reach.
"I do know we came out a little angry and I do know that the energy from the crowd really boosted us to levels that I didn't think we could get to against this team," said Cone.
Gate attendance for Game Seven was at a whopping 54,589, a good couple of hundreds more than the previous PBA record set back in 2017 — which also had Ginebra on the billing.
They were facing the Meralco Bolts in another Game Seven, where they ended up winning the PBA Governor's Cup championship.
Back then, the record was at 54,086.
With the Gin Kings continuing to prove their status as fan favorites, Cone and his wards can keep on riding the wave.
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