IT’S still very early in the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup finals, but Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone is already giving his wards a pat on the back.
In the Gin Kings’ resounding 102-87 victory in Game 1 of the best-of-five finals Friday night against Meralco to draw first blood, Cone appreciated something about his team that he thinks will help Ginebra in its title-retention bid moving forward.
The defending champions showed resiliency and championship poise despite several attempted rallies by the Bolts to stand its ground and start the series with a bang.
“We did what we’re supposed to do to start the series. We didn’t go into panic mode,” said Cone of his wards’ composure. “We did a good job settling in and I hope we continue doing that because we expect Meralco to never stop coming at us.”
With that confidence-boosting opening win and with momentum on its side, Ginebra is currently gunning for a 2-0 series lead against Meralco as of this report as the two protagonists are doing battle once again in Game 2.
The Bolts, on the other hand, are doing their best to avoid a 0-2 hole and square the series right away.
There’s still a lot of basketball to be played in the series and this week ahead will certainly be critical as Games 3 and 4 are slated on Wednesday and Thursday.
Cone doesn’t expect any less from the Bolts and he knows that there will still be a long way to go.
“We expect them to continue making adjustments and runs throughout the series and it’s important for us to stay true to our game to be fine,” said Cone.
Game Wednesday (Araneta Coliseum)
7 p.m. Ginebra vs Meralco