Barangay Ginebra couldn’t sustain their fine play in the opener and bowed to the defending champions San Miguel Beermen in Game 2 of the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup semifinals.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone couldn’t find any consolation in the Barangay's 93-84 loss to the San Miguel Beermen in Game 2 of the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup semifinals Wednesday, January 7.
“No, not tonight,” said Cone when asked whether there were positives for them at the end of the match at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
After leading by as many as 11 points, the Gin Kings found themselves on the receiving end of the Beermen’s blows in the second half where it all went downhill.
“They beat us up in the second half. They played San Miguel basketball,” said Cone after the match.
“June Mar dominated in the second half and they hit shots and they got the running game going. We didn’t defend well the whole second half, gave up like 60 points or something in the second half. Just not a good performance out of us.”
The setback ended an eight-game winning streak for Ginebra, which struggled to contain the nine-time MVP anew. Fajardo ended up with 21 points and 23 rebounds.
Unlike in the series opener, Ginebra couldn’t contain San Miguel’s other gunners with Jeron Teng finishing with 13 points including 12 in the fourth period.
Don Trollano and Jericho Cruz atoned for a sloppy play in Game 1 and came up with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Given SMB’s depth, Cone was no longer surprised.
“They picked a good guy off the bench to come out and he played well (Teng). He turned the game in the fourth quarter," Cone said.
Now Cone and his coaching staff go back to the drawing board as Ginebra tries to fire back at the Beermen when Game 3 rolls around on Friday, January 9 also at the Big Dome.
“They’re deep all the way through. Their bench comes out and they play. They got (Kris) Rosales coming off the bench, they got Teng coming off the bench, and they still have Trollano and Cruz,” said the 25-time PBA champion coach.
“We have to regroup and see if we can regroup quickly and come back and get this thing going in Game 3,” he added.
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Like most sportswriters, Jan Ballesteros once dreamed of becoming a professional hooper. But he learned the hard way that it’s not for everyone.
He continues to be involved in the sport he loves, but this time as a member of the PBA Press Corps. Aside from primarily covering the PBA, he is also assigned to cover Gilas Pilipinas.