Cone ready, expects Game 7
BASED on the previous two championship meetings between Barangay Ginebra and Meralco, this coming 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals is expected to come down to a series decider.
It’s no wonder Gin Kings head coach Tim Cone is already preparing for a possible Game 7 as the best-of-seven series begins on Tuesday.
“We could go to a Game 10 if necessary, if it was a possibility. For me, I never really wanna predict how far we'll go,” said Cone on Saturday in the Finals press conference. “We plan on playing a Game 7.”
The two teams battled for the season-ending conference’s throne for two straight years in 2016 and 2017 with the Gin Kings winning both duels. But Ginebra was pushed to the limit both times with the Gin Kings needing Justin Brownlee’s title-clinching buzzer-beater trey to close their first Finals meeting in six games while their rematch the following year went to Game 7.
This clash could be no different with both squads – coming off long breaks claiming that it will be a long series.
“We feel like we're in good shape. We tried to pace our players throughout the entire conference to make sure they would stay fresh,” said Bolts coach Norman Black, who is looking to steer Meralco to its first title. “We just played TNT in a Game 5 so we went the limit as far as the semifinals is concerned. We'll be ready just in case it does go to a Game 7.”
Just like Black, Cone will try to preserve his wards energy just in case.
“We try to watch the players' minutes and such and practice time so we don't wear them out so they have something left in a Game 7,” he said. “But obviously if you can finish it early... we'd like to. They would like to finish it early, we would like to finish it early.”
“But I think our feelings are it's gonna go down to a Game 7. That's generally the case when you have two really good teams,” added Cone. “We'll throw grenades at each other back and forth for a few games and try to come down to the wire and see who wins it all.”