Gin Kings need reinforcements, says Cone

MANILA, Philippines -- With the playoffs nearing and with a number of injuries in its roster, the Barangay Ginebra is “looking for help” outside their lineup.

Ginebra head coach Tim Cone on Friday said that with the recent injury to star Jamie Malonzo, the team is trying to fill in the void in the wing.

“We’re looking for help. We’re looking for help outside the lineup to fill that void because right now, we have… I think Sidney [Onwubere] is our kind of our four man and after Sidney, we go down to a guard. We really don’t have anything in between,” Cone told reporters after their 87-83 win over the TNT Tropang Giga.

He underscored that aside from Onwubere, they have Ralph Cu to fill in the void, but he is a “stretch four.”

“We’re looking for help, try to slot somebody in there... Doesn’t mean he’s going to come out and be a starter or a star, but if he can come out and give us a few minutes and help us, we’ll look for that,” he added.

“That’s what happens, when you have injuries, you got to find ways to make them up.”

Malonzo is set to miss a few weeks due to a calf injury.

Aside from the 6-foot-6 forward, the Gin Kings are also missing the services of Jeremiah Gray and Aljon Mariano.

“Is there a trade pending? Not at all. Have we talked to other teams? Not at all. Yet. That’s what this week is going to be about. Again, could be a free agent, could be somebody who’s been released by another team,” he said.

The mentor also bared that they already put a waiver claim in for David Murrell, who is part of Ginebra's sister team Magnolia. The team is currently waiting if another team will pick him up.

“But we’re looking at some guys from the MPBL that have gone there recently. That’s on us, that’s what you do as a team. You find out where your holes are and you try to fill them,” Cone stressed.

“It may sometimes be at the end of the conference, sometimes in the middle of the conference. But we owe that to the other players that fill that position and keep trying to win championships.”

The Gin Kings are currently second in the standings with a 6-3 win-loss record. In their final two games of the conference, they will face the Converge FiberXers on April 27 and the NLEX Road Warriors on May 5.