MANILA, Philippines — Sa isang best-of-five series ay mahalaga sa isang koponan ang kaagad makopo ang Game One.
Ito ang opinyon ni coach Tim Cone sa pagsagupa ng nagdedepensang Barangay Ginebra sa NLEX sa kanilang semifinals showdown sa PBA Governors’ Cup na magsisimula sa Miyerkules sa MOA Arena sa Pasay City.
“You always want to try to set the tone in Game One, especially in a five-game series,” wika ng two-time PBA Grand Slam champion coach.
“It’s a quick series, so that Game One is crucial.”
Dalawang beses tinalo ng No. 6 Gin Kings, may ‘twice-to-beat’ disadvantage sa quarterfinals, ang No. 3 TNT Tropang Giga, 104-92 at 115-95, para umabante sa semis.
Bumangon naman ang No. 2 Road Warriors, nagbitbit ng ‘twice-to-beat’ bonus, mula sa 79-93 pagkatalo sa No. 7 Alaska Aces matapos kunin ang 96-80 tagumpay para tapusin ang kanilang quarterfinals duel.
Pinatumba na ng NLEX ang Ginebra, 115-103, noong Marso 4 sa eliminasyon.
Marami ang nawalan ng paniniwalang makakapasok ang Gin Kings sa semis.
“It’s been a trial trying to get everything back to where it was two conferences ago, Having Justin (Brownlee) back helped us out,” ani Cone. “We went through a bad stretch when we came (from the COVID-19 surge). We were 3-0 and then we lost four games in a row. All to our heels.”
Ngunit bumalikwas ang ‘never-say-die’ team para buhayin ang tsansang maidepensa ang kanilang Governors’ Cup crown na inangkin nila noong 2019 kasunod ang pandemya.
“I think people tend to forget that we won two championships before and then we had a letdown in the last conference. It’s kind of normal, it’s natural to have that kind of letdown,” sabi ng 64-anyos na pupuntiryahin ang kanyang ika-24 PBA championship.
Magtutuos din sa isang best-of-five semis series ang Magnolia at Meralco, ang No. 1 at No. 4 team sa eliminasyon.