Cone avoiding prolonged grind against Magnolia
BARANGAY Ginebra San Miguel and Magnolia start their quarterfinals showdown in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup on Saturday at the historic Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
And Gin Kings coach Tim Cone wants to finish off the Hotshots early.
“We didn’t want to see Magnolia this early in the playoffs. ey are just too good and too dangerous and wellcoached,” Cone told Businessmirror via texted message on Friday.
“We don’t want to prolong the series to avoid exhaustion—that’s the plan and we’re hopeful to beat them right away,” he added.
The Gin Kings square off with the Hotshots with a twice-to-beat advantage starting at 6:15 p.m. after the 3 p.m. game between eliminations top-notcher and also twice-to-beat San Miguel Beer and No. 8 Terrafirma at 3 p.m.
Magnolia packs a pesky defense led by the tandem of Mark Barroca and Jio Jalalon and with workhorse Calvin “e Beast” Abueva around, that’s a headache for Cone and his wards.
Ginebra finished the eliminations behind San Miguel Beer with a 7-4 won-lost record, while Magnolia ranked seventh with a 6-5 card.
“So we just have to take their challenge,” said Cone, who won’t have Jamie Malonzo on the bench for the rest of the conference because of a left calf injury. “Jamie [Malonzo] just had his surgery this morning [Friday] at 5 a.m. and he’s expected to be out a number of months,” he said.
Magnolia, meanwhile, are bringing their best as they prepare for the against Ginebra and its enormous fans.
“ere’s no room for errors when you face Ginebra team. We have to give our very best because they are strong offensively and defensively and the crowd is behind them,” said Barroca, who averaged 15 points and 5.1 assists in the elimination round.
e Dyip coach Johnedel Cardel, on the other hand, said they are hardpressed against the Beermen, who lost only once in the eliminations.
“All 15 players are superstars, everybody can contribute,” said Cardel of the Beermen. “But anything can happen. We will just give our best.”
Terrafirma is in the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons.
NLEX’S Robert Bolick, meanwhile, continued to lead the Best Player of the Conference race with averages of 27.4 points, 7.0 assists and 5.6 rebounds in the elimination round for a frontrunning 44.5 statistical points (SPS).
Top rookie pick Stephen Holt was second with 21 points, 8.4 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 2.5 steals for 41.5 Sps and seven-time MVP June Mar Fajardo was third with 16 points, league leading 14.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists for 41.0 Sps.