Whether it was June Mar Fajardo’s struggles or the need for a historic triple-double from Scottie Thompson, Tim Cone and the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings welcomed every advantage they could get just to take down the mighty San Miguel Beermen.
That was the message Cone emphasized following Ginebra’s 105-91 Game 4 victory in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup semifinals on Sunday, January 11, with the Gin Kings mentor reiterating that San Miguel remains the barometer of excellence, especially in the All-Filipino conference.
“June Mar had a tough night,” Cone said of Fajardo, who was limited to nine points on a rough 3-of-14 shooting.
“I didn’t know if it was his shoulders or what, but he was missing shots he normally makes. We’ll take that, whatever advantage we can get.”
Despite the off night, the nine-time PBA MVP still hauled down 20 rebounds and dished out five assists, something Cone said spoke to both Fajardo’s greatness and the overall strength of the Beermen.
“They are a legendary team in the All-Filipino. June Mar is legendary, and it’s quite intimidating to play them,” said the winningest coach in league history.
“There’s [Chris] Ross, [Marcio] Lassiter and CJ [Perez], then June Mar. That’s a formidable team. Then you add [Don] Trollano and Jericho [Cruz], so it’s really tough,” he added.
Team NSD must believe
Beyond capitalizing on advantages and relying on heroic performances, Cone pointed to another key in finally solving San Miguel this time around: belief.
“The biggest problem we have with this team is just believing that we can beat them,” said the Gilas Pilipinas mentor.
“That is the hardest thing for us to overcome.”
The Gin Kings previously fell to the eventual champion Beermen in seven games during the Season 49 Philippine Cup, and for Cone, how they approach what has now become a virtual best-of-three affair will dictate if they can reverse the roles this time.
“We need to internalize the idea that we can beat them, and that’s really the biggest battle we need to overcome,” he said. (ABS-CBN News)