[ad_1]
Barangay Ginebra celebrates at the buzzer after dismantling Bay Area in Game 7 of the Commissioner’s Cup Finals. — AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Barangay Ginebra ticked several boxes on Sunday night after winning the 2022 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup in electrifying fashion at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
The Gin Kings defeated the visiting Bay Area Dragons, 114-99, in a classic Game 7 to raise their championship tally to 15, delight a record 54,589 fans and finally defend the pride of Asia’s pioneer pro league.
To do this, coach Tim Cone simply “makes it easy”.
“Nothing special,” he told reporters in his usual postgame chat as the parties in the cavernous venue die down. “We don’t want to come up with a complicated game plan.”
“We want the players to come out and play with their instincts [and] don’t have to think too much,” added Cone, who said during the series that his team was playing for league pride. “Just go out and play, be aggressive and don’t be afraid to shoot the ball.”
The Kings also passed previous Cone teams, Alaska and Magnolia, for 2nd on the list of franchises with the most championships.
Ginebra’s 15 titles are still far behind San Miguel Beer’s record of 28. But Cone, who now has 25 titles, isn’t counting—at least not yet.
“I didn’t think about it,” he said. “I’ve learned to move on [NBA coach] Phil Jackson … I’m not worried whether it’s 24 or 25. I’m just moving on, looking for the next one. I try to get our guys to play at a high level and give themselves a chance to win. That’s actually my philosophy.”
“From all the observations and readings I’ve done over the years of Phil Jackson, I feel that this is the secret of success in learning about him. That’s what I try to use,” added Cone.
Newly minted Filipino Justin Brownlee led Ginebra’s reign, helping the Gin Kings take an early 22-point advantage for their biggest lead of the first half of the series.
“I thought Justin came out and set the tone for us. He fired the early shots, and this kind of thing can be contagious to others,” said Cone about the tireless import who continued to remain flawless in the PBA Finals with six titles in six Finals appearances.
It also turned out that Ginebra produced a championship performance for the record crowd, as the roar of support from the fans also helped the performance.
Bay Area had cut the deficit to 13, but the energy provided by the crowd helped the Kings keep up with the last-place Dragons.
“Like I said, we were totally surprised how well we played, and we could handle the Bay Area,” said Cone. “The only explanation I can give is that the crowd raised us to such a performance.”
That energy—and Brownlee’s hot start—killed Ginebra’s other standouts. Reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) Scottie Thompson homered in the second frame to help build that cushion, while Jamie Malonzo heated up in the third as the Kings held off the Dragons’ comeback attempt.
“Scottie hit one, and Jamie just had a big game tonight. Not just in scoring, but in offensive rebounding, shot blocking, running the floor. His energy level was through the roof tonight. He was amazing. But again, everything people,” Cone said.
He wasn’t the only one.
Japeth Aguilar, LA Tenorio, and eventual Finals MVP Christian Standhardinger all scored in double figures to help lead Ginebra to 28 points.
“I rode a horse tonight. I rode Justin really hard, we played what person, 47 minutes? I played Jamie, Jamie cramping five to six minutes last game. After the game, Christian … also cramping,” said Cone.
“I rode LA very hard, because he had a serious injury. And then obviously, I rode Scottie really hard, really, made people guard [import Myles] Powell for the last two games. So I rode the horse tonight very hard, and he responded. INQ
Analyze your weekly exercise
[ad_2]
Source link