BARANGAY Ginebra is just one step away from the PBA Commissioner's Cup finals but that offers little comfort for coach Tim Cone.
In fact, major concerns are running through Cone's mind as he gears up his Kings for another expected drawn-out battle with Rain or Shine Monday in Game 4 of their semi-finals duel at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
A 75-72 win last Saturday gave Ginebra a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series and it could seal the deal with another victory.
Easier said than done, according to Cone. "If we don't come out with a bit more poise and a bit more fight, they're gonna come out and get Game 4 easy," he said.
Coming spoke after Game 3, when his Kings got off to a blazing start, led by 25 points a couple of times but then almost wilted in the face of the E-Painters' spirited uprising that brought the latter within two.
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Good thing that after LA Tenorio's charity split to make it a three-point game, James Yap missed a harried try from way out just before the final buzzer that preserved the win.
"When you put a sunny face into it, yeah, we're a win away," offered Cone. "But obviously we're coming away from this game with a lot of concerns."
Had Yap's shot found the bottom of the net, it would have meant a fifth overtime game for Rain or Shine in the conference. Incidentally, the E-Painters have won all their previous four games that got went beyond regulation.
That was exactly what Cone admittedly dreaded. "They've played close games all throughout the conference and they've won all of them," he said.
"They're a very poised, veteran team with (Beau) Belga and Chris Tiu and Gabe Norwood and James. And their import, Reggie Johnson, is really such a smart, intelligent player. So that's the reason why they deserve that No. 1 seed," added Cone.
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"So looking at that, we're happy to be up 2-1."
Game 3 marked the third straight time in the series Rain or Shine came back from a sizable early deficit and was successful just two days before, unleashing a 12-0 finishing kick to win 109-100 and avenge an 89-102 loss in the opener.
That Saturday game was the worst for the E-Painters, however, as they dug themselves the deepest hole yet by making only three field goal shots in each of the first two quarters.
"Our defense was tremendous in that first half, just absolutely tremendous," noted Cone. "Our offense was equally not as tremendous in the second half."
True enough, Ginebra went 4-for-15 in the third quarter before going 4-for-13 in the final canto where it got outscored 31-14.
"A couple of times we took aggressive shots that we missed and from there we got tentative," rued Cone. "We don't want to take those shots anymore. And then our focus got on the fact we were missing shots rather than on our defense."
Good thing Justin Brownlee would not be stymied on that particular evening as he scattered 10 of his 44 points in the fourth and even had a steal and a block that made sure the Kings stayed ahead.
In contrast, Reggie Johnson struggled with just 13 points on a 5-for-19 shooting, something he is sure to go all out and atone for in Game 4.
For sure, E-Painters coach Caloy Garcia would also draw positives in the fightback that fell just short and would be gearing his team for a much better start Monday night.
That is exactly what Cone is bracing his team for. "Now we have to focus on what it will take to win a third game," he said.(NC)
