Ginebra moves on, won't protest game vs GlobalPort

MANILA, Philippines – In the end it was poise rather than protest for Tim Cone and his Ginebra squad.

After bowing down to the GlobalPort Batang Pier in a cardiac quarterfinals match Sunday night, Cone remained mum, politely declining invitations for an interview. 

But hours later, the famed tactician, through his Twitter account, hinted on moving on.

Players played their hearts out, fans screamed their hearts out. Despite the loss, that makes it a great night. We'll be back stronger. #NSD

— Tim Cone (@manilacone) December 27, 2015

Shortly after the final buzzer sounded, Cone and his staff were actively contesting what they thought should be a five-second ball-hogging call incurred by Batang Pier guard Stanley Pringle. The game concluded with GlobalPort advancing to  the next round of the Conference Playoffs.

For its part, the Philippine Basketball Association's (PBA) made it clear that the Gin Kings could formally file a complaint before the Office of the Commissioner, giving Cone and his crew a deadline:

From the Office of the Commissioner: As far as the PBA is concerned the game has already been concluded unless we receive any protest from Bgy. Ginebra San Miguel before 12 noon today. Regarding the officiating and to be fair, we have scheduled a hearing for the 4 referees tomorrow, the 29th of December, to determine their performance. After that we shall come out with our official action on them.

And players, naturally, followed Cone's lead. Here's one from bigman Joe Devance.

Lets respect that. I love your passion and heart for us. Lets continue to get better!! #NSD #ginebra

— joe devance (@jdv_38) December 27, 2015

The deadline for the complaint expired with the Gin Kings filing no formal complaint. An official protest requires a minimum bond of P20,000.

Ginebra hasn't won a PBA championship in almost eight years. Their last title conquest came in the 2007-08 Fiesta Conference. The last time the Gin Kings reached the semifinals was seven conferences ago.

Cone, a winner of two Grand Slams in the league, took over the coaching duties during the off-season. He replaced renowned collegiate coach Frankie Lim who also came from a string of mid-season coaching changes by what many spectators and pundits accept as the most popular basketball franchise.