Cone apologizes to Geneva fans for uneven loss to SMB sparks controversy

Coach Tim Cone apologized to the Geneva faithful Monday morning after controversies broke out Sunday night in the Kings’ 81-66 loss to sister team San Miguel Beer.

Read: SMB shows good form, beats Geneva to break two-game slide

In a series of tweets, Cone shared his thoughts on the decisions made entering the game against the Beermen, responding to fans who were quick to criticize Geneva’s mentor for making the decisions.

The Gin Kings were chasing shadows in the second quarter when San Miguel sniper Marcio Lassiter unloaded eight of his 12 points en route to a 42-25 lead.

Cone’s decision to bench his key players primarily in the second half of the game drew criticism on social media and sparked the problem of trying to help the Beermen climb the rankings.

When Guinevere was struggling to come back, Stanley Pringle and Japeth Aguilar, who had a constant impact on the Kings, did not return in the reward period. The two played for 18:57 and 17:30 minutes respectively.

San Miguel extended the lead by up to 20 points, 56-36, before Scottie Thompson triggered a 17-0 run for Geneva to cut the deficit by three, 56-53. But thanks to the efforts of Chris Ross, SMB kept up the momentum with less than five minutes remaining.

“If we lose our last two games, we are not sure [a] Top 4 finish, ”Cone said. “We had to make a decision. If we’re late early, we’re going to rest the guys that got hit: Stan, Jap, LA, JD. We weren’t going to risk losing two games trying to fight in one game. “

Cone admitted that the tight schedule was a “real concern” for the team despite winning three straight games against Alaska Aces, NorthPort Batang Pier and TNT Tropang Giga.

Geneva is set to play its fifth game in exactly one week against Terrafirm Dyip, who have already been sent off from playoff contention, to crown the triple header tonight, November 9.

“Being 17 down in the middle, I said we would watch our starters in the first few minutes and determine if we would stick with them or go with the second group,” added Cone.

“It was the second group with Scottie that brought us back inside [three points.] In the end, our guys didn’t show up to SMB and that was disappointing and unacceptable. They know “.

After much thought, the 62-year-old Genevan coach took responsibility for the Genevan’s lackluster performance, saying he “didn’t prepare them well.”

Looking at the “big picture,” Cone hopes to move on and tries to seal the top spot with a win over Terrafirma.

“I really apologize to the fans if what we did was interpreted differently,” he said.