PBA: Unbeaten Ginebra continues to face injury woes

MANILA, Philippines—Ginebra may have won all three of their first games in the PBA Governors’ Cup tournament but injury problems continue to pile up for the Gin Kings.

After the Gin Kings’ 115-100 win over Northport at the Mall of Asia Arena on Friday, coach Tim Cone revealed a long list of injured players for the defending Commissioner’s Cup champions, who played only their first game on Sunday.

“We still have LA (Tenorio) in limited minutes. No Christian (Stanhardinger), no Japeth (Aguilar), Scottie (Thompson) laughs, but he found a way to overcome it, but we got a good show,” top coach admits.

WATCH: Ginebra’s Jamie Malonzo and coach Tim Cone after the win against Northport.

Malonzo finished with a career-high 28 points to give the Gin Kings their third straight win. | @MeloFuertesINQ pic.twitter.com/i9fX8Ky9uD

– INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) February 10, 2023

Tenorio has played limited minutes the past three games due to a tweaked stomach muscle.

Aguilar and Stanhardinger, on the other hand, tend to injure their own knees, leaving Ginebra short in the big man department.

“I think Japeth can come out for a few more games. [Standhardinger] can play tomorrow, we will find out in practice. Even so, it will not be 100 percent,” explained Cone.

To make matters worse, role player Raymond Aguilar suffered a collapse in the second quarter of Friday’s game and did not return.

However, Cone said the coaching staff was just being careful not to put the lock wheel back into the matchup. He will be able to play for the ‘Manila Clasico’ on Sunday against Magnolia.

SMALL BALLS

With players sick, Cone relied on a small-ball rotation that powered the Gin Kings against the Batang Pier.

“We play small but when you have Jamie (Malonzo), Miah (Gray) and Justin (Brownlee) playing together, you’re not small. They’re fast, they can go out and play for each other even on defense. It’s a fun combination,” he said.

Malonzo scored a career-high 28 points for Ginebra, while Gray doubled his tally in a star-studded game against NLEX with 16.

Brownlee did it all for the now 3-0 squad with 22 markers, 15 boards and 12 dimes.

Malonzo also acknowledged the team’s growing pains due to injuries and explained that the schedule added to the difficulties.

“We’ve got key players so we’re all banged up. We’ve got a few guys out with injuries, but this is the third game out of the week. We’re grinding,” he said.

On Wednesday, Cone addressed the squad’s problems with ITS’ “condensed schedule,” saying it was difficult to play back-to-back games after a seven-game streak last month.

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