Ginebra posed a threat early in the fourth, but just didn’t have enough to get over the hump in Game 6 of the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup semifinals.
Ginebra was sent to the exit door in Game 6 of its PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup semifinal battle with San Miguel, but head coach Tim Cone graciously gave his praises to their foe.
While the Gin Kings displayed their signature “Never Say Die” spirit as it cut a 19-point deficit down to four early in the fourth period, 79-83, they just fizzled against the red-hot Cjay Perez and the rest of the Beermen.
Ginebra ended up bowing to the defending champion, 88-101.
“They were obviously the better team. They made all the big shots. They made all the big stops, not just [in Game 6], but throughout the whole series,” Cone said last Friday, Jan. 16.
Perez dropped a record 30 points in the first quarter en route to a career-high 41 points to shock Ginebra.
SMB thus arranged a Finals rematch with TNT.
[RELATED STORY: Cjay Perez makes history in career night vs Ginebra as Beermen enter PBA Finals]
“Cjay just came out and deflated the energy of our defense by the shots he made. We just never got our defense going,” Cone said.
“We did a little better in the second half. (But) everytime we got a big moment, we either made a turnover or we couldn’t make a stop.”
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Tim Cone reacts during Game 6 of the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup semifinals. | Photo: RM Chua/One Sports
Cone said Ginebra just could not unleash a haymaker against the All-Filipino conference juggernaut.
“That’s just kind of the story of the whole series. We just couldn’t step up big time. And they did, and they’re well-deserving,” he said.
(With reports from Gillian Trinidad/One Sports Digital)
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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.