Tim Cone awaits TNT counterattack as Geneva seeks 3-0 series lead – Manila Bulletin

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel wants to play with more sense of urgency this time around, as he aims to put TNT in a deep hole and take a 3-0 lead Friday night in the PBA Philippines Cup Finals in the Cultural and Sports Center of the University of Angeles Foundation.

Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is again scheduled for 6 p.m. with the Kings buoyed by their ground-level victories in the first two games, including Wednesday’s 92-90 decision inside the Smart Clark Giga City bubble. .

Scottie Thompson continued her ability to deliver in the clutch, hitting a corner three with 30.5 seconds to go that put Geneva on forever and finally delivered another frustrating loss to TNT, which she led by 15 in the third and seven in the fourth.

But Geneva coach Tim Cone knows from experience that claiming the first two games of a championship series is no guarantee that lifting the trophy at the end is either moot and academic.

It happened twice in Cone’s illustrious career, the first in the 1990 First Conference when Alaska lost to Purefoods in five games after taking a 2-0 lead.

The other happened at the 2002 Governors’ Cup with Alaska again winning the first two games against Purefoods, only for the TJ Hotdogs to come back and capture the title in the decisive Game 7.

“We’re grateful to win (Game 2), but we didn’t play well,” Cone said after Game 2. “Just like Game 1, I felt like we could have played a lot better and we were grateful to win that one. unlucky.

“We were down the entire game until the last three or four minutes of the game. So there’s not much to breast pump and say ‘Wow, we’re so much better. Look at us, we are up 2-0 ‘. We cannot say that. I mean, these games could have gone either way. That means this series could turn out to be a dime a dozen.

Read: TNT technician admits: ‘We were mocked’ by Geneva

“A 2-0 lead means nothing with a team like TNT and I honestly feel that from the bottom of my heart,” added Cone. “The game was separated by important shots. We made them, they didn’t. So how can we be comfortable at this point, knowing that they practically dominated us in the first two games and we were able to win? ”.

Cone described TNT as a team that played vigorously despite losing Ray Parks Jr. to a calf injury, as RR Pogoy regained scoring slack to produce 38 points.

At the same time, some of the leading men in Geneva, namely Thompson, LA Tenorio and Japeth Aguilar were struggling and had to get valuable contributions from Stanley Pringle, Aljon Mariano and veteran backups Jared Dillinger and Jeff Chan for a chance to win. .

Despite another heroic performance, Thompson along with Tenorio and Aguilar are keen to atone for their inconsistent play for Geneva to come out on top, while TNT is unsure if Parks will be able to adapt in hopes of reviving their title chances.