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Teams that draw first blood in a series generally gain a psychological advantage in Game 2. None of the Game 1 winners in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals are buying that.
Barangay Geneva coach Tim Cone has, in fact, put out a different psychological version.
“We have to overcome [the first] game. We follow a lot of John Maxwell stuff and one of those things he says is ‘The biggest detriment to tomorrow’s success is today’s success,’ ”Cone told reporters here at Smart Clark Giga City.
The Kings dismantled the Meralco Bolts, 96-79, Wednesday night at the Angeles University Foundation and, as far as Cone is concerned, that brings some mental problems.
“You have a tendency to leave [your guard] down, think that all you have to do is introduce yourself. Hopefully we are smart enough to know more about [Meralco],” he said.
TNT coach Bong Ravena has even more reason to be wary of relying on the confidence of an opening win. Tropang Giga faced a squad that failed its best scorer midway through the first period and whose stat-filling forward was paralyzed with foul problems. And yet Phoenix was one possession away from voiding what ultimately ended in a 95-92 TNT victory.
“We know they will be back any minute,” Ravena said.
“We know that they are not the type [simply roll over]”He added.
Both the Gin Kings and Tropang Giga, favorite teams to reach the final dance, have set their sights on taking over Game 2 on Friday, where they will both look to lead 2-0 in the three-contest race.
Geneva faces Meralco at 3:45 pm while TNT and Phoenix take the court afterwards.
Almost everyone has marked the Kings for mistreating the Bolts again in Game 2, especially with the way they performed flawlessly in the first game of the semi-final. Cone refuses to be convinced.
“Well, we have to be careful not to start hearing from all of you how good we are,” said the two-time Grand Slam winner. “It is very dangerous. You beat a team by a big margin and all you’ve done is motivate them to come back and play with you. “
“I’ve always said that it’s always harder for me to move forward from wins than losses because when you lose, you want to come back and play again so you can win again,” added Cone. “But when you win, you have a tendency to think about that victory for too long, and you take it to the next one with you and you find yourself vulnerable. So as important as it was to get Game 1, right now we need to forget about it and prepare for Game 2. “
Tropang Giga needed Jayson Castro to rescue them down the stretch even though the Fuel Masters played three-and-a-half quarters without top scorer Matthew Wright and heartbreaking Calvin Abueva stuck on the bench with foul problems. Phoenix came within a free throw of Jason Perkins to tie the score at the end of the game and coach Topex Robinson feels his team had done enough to send a message to his opponent.
“I am proud of how we stood up. We fight. And I’m sure TNT is concerned about that situation, ”Robinson said.
“Let’s use [this] Against them. [It’s] it will be our battle cry, “he added.
Wright is expected to return after spraining an ankle midway through the first quarter in Game 1, but Robinson still believes the team will have to work hard to square the series against talent-rich TNT.
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