MANILA, Philippines — Sa huling 10 minuto ng fourth quarter at hawak ng nagdedepensang Barangay Ginebra ang 76-67 abante ay ipinahinga ni coach Tim Cone si import Justin Brownlee.
Malaki itong sugal para kay Cone lalo na at bigating karibal ang TNT Tropang Giga.
Ngunit isang 11-2 atake ang inilunsad nina Jamie Malonzo, Scottie Thompson at Stanley Pringle para muling ilayo ang Gin Kings sa 87-69 patungo sa 102-90 pagdaig sa Tropang Giga sa Game One ng 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals noong Linggo.
“We really needed Justin to take a break and get him some rest. You can see him gasping for air and slow to get back on defense,” paliwanag ni Cone sa pagpapaupo niya kay Brownlee.
Tumapos ang six-time PBA champion import na may 31 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists at 2 steals habang may 21, 16, 11 at 10 markers sina Malonzo, Christian Standhardinger, Pringle at Thompson, ayon sa pagkakasunod.
Kumumpleto si Thompson ng triple-double sa kanyang 11 rebounds at 11 assists.
Nagmula ang Ginebra sa isang 10-day break bago labanan ang TNT sa series opener.
Ayon sa two-time PBA Grand Slam champion coach na si Cone, hindi niya alam ang ilalaro ng kanyang mga bataan matapos ang maikling bakasyon.
“To be totally honest, we don’t know if we did a good job of preparing for this game” ani Cone. “I was questioning myself. I was questioning whether we should take Good Friday off. I was questioning whether if we’ve taken too much time or we didn’t work hard enough. There was a lot of questions.”
Itatayo ng Gin Kings ang 2-0 lead sa kanilang best-of-seven title series ng Tropang Giga sa Game Two bukas sa Smart Araneta Coliseum.