BARANGAY Ginebra coach Tim Cone admitted San Miguel Beer clearly came out as the better team following the Beermen’s 4-2 semifinal series victory in the PBA Philippine Cup last Friday.
CJ Perez sparked the Beermen’s red-hot offensive that saw him drop 30 points on a perfect 12-of-12 shooting from the field to lead San Miguel to a 101-88 series-clinching victory in Game 6.
“They were obviously the better team. They made all the big shots, they made all the big stops, not just (Game 6), but the whole series,” said Cone, whose team also lost to San Miguel in an epic seven-game semifinal series in the all-Filipino conference last season.
Cone explained that Ginebra’s defense failed to click with consistency, a reason why San Miguel top dog June Mar Fajardo dominated the boards after averaging over 19 rebounds in the series, while Perez, Don Trollano and veterans like Jericho Cruz, Chris Ross and Marcio Lassiter having a field day in scoring also.
“Our defense didn’t go (in Game 6), got better in the second half, but everytime there was a big moment, we made tunrovers or we couldn’t get a stop,” the Ginebra mentor said.
“That was just kind of the story in the whole series – we couldn’t step up big time and they did. That was the series.”
Ginebra last tasted the Philippine Cup championship during the 2020 bubble edition in Angeles City, with Cone’s charges beating TNT, 4-1, in the finals.
San Miguel waltzed to the All-Filipino Cup Finals in a title series rematch against TNT.
The Beermen won the Finals series, 4-2, last season, denying the Tropang 5G a grand slam finish.
