Cone nagugulat pa rin sa ipinapakita ng Ginebra

MANILA, Philippines — Bagama’t ilang beses nang nagawang posible ang isang bagay na impo­sible ay nagugulat pa rin si coach Tim Cone sa Barangay Ginebra.

Lalo na ng muling ipa­ki­ta ng Gin Kings ang ka­ni­lang taglay na “Never Say Die” spirit sa 95-92 pag-es­kapo sa Magnolia Hotshots sa kanilang Christmas Day game sa PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup no­ong Miyerkules.

Sinaksihan ng kabu­uang 12,198 fans sa Smart Araneta Coliseum ang buzzer-beating three-point shot ni Scottie Thompson.

“You could kind of feel it coming. You could feel the momentum,” sabi ni Cone. “We don’t represent Gi­nebra’s aura of ‘Never Say Die’ as much as the old Jaworski days, but we still feel it.”

Kinumpleto ni Thompson ang pagbangon ng Ginebra mula sa isang 22-point deficit sa third quarter para itaas ang ka­ni­lang record sa 4-2.

Bagsak naman ang Mag­­nolia sa 2-5 marka.

Tatlong triples ang isi­nal­pak ni rookie guard RJ Abarrientos sa third pe­riod ba­go nakatuwang sina Maverick Ahanmisi at import Justin Brownlee sa rat­sada sa fourth quarter.

“At halftime, I was so disappointed because you know, we had a nice crowd. They came to watch the game and we played so poorly in the first half,” ani Cone.

“I just think the guys kind of gathered themselves and got a little bit de­termined there in the second half,” dagdag ng two-time PBA Grand Slam champion coach.

Tumapos si Thompson na may 14 points, 6 assists at 5 rebounds.

Sunod na lalabanan ng Gin Kings ang San Miguel Beermen sa Enero 5.