The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel had an uncharacteristic performance in their 93-84 loss to the San Miguel Beermen in Game 2 of the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup semifinals on Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Gin Kings head coach Tim Cone said his team failed to play to the level it had shown in recent months, particularly on the defensive end as they allowed the Beermen to claw back from a double-digit deficit.
“It’s not characteristic of how we’ve been playing over the last couple of months,” Cone told the media after the game. “We didn’t defend well the whole second half. We gave up like 60 points or something in the second half. Just not a good performance out of us.”
The veteran coach noted that San Miguel imposed its style after halftime, with June Mar Fajardo taking control inside as the Beermen found their rhythm on offense and in transition.
“They beat us up in the second half. They played San Miguel basketball,” Cone said. “June Mar dominated the second half and they hit shots and they got the running game going.”
Cone also pointed to San Miguel’s depth as a major factor, as the Beermen received key contributions from their bench that swung the game in the fourth quarter.
“They picked a good guy off the bench to come out and they played well. They turned the game in the fourth quarter,” Cone said. “June Mar was the dominant guy, but he turned the game in the fourth quarter.”
Despite the loss, Cone stressed the importance of regrouping quickly as the best-of-seven series moves forward.
“We just kind of have to regroup and see if we can regroup quickly and come back and get this thing going,” Cone said.
The defeat erased Ginebra’s Game 1 advantage and set up a crucial Game 3 on Friday, with both teams now tied at one win each in the semifinals. (AC)
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