THE ART OF MOVING ON
Everything has been going well for Barangay Ginebra in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals, with the Gin Kings taking a commanding lead and an overwhelming mental edge over NorthPort in their best-of-seven showdown.
The crowd darlings have been playing with a full-strength roster, and one of its rising stars, Jamie Malonzo, is regaining his groove. But more importantly, the club has moved to the doorstep of another championship series appearance.
And yet, head coach Tim Cone is not too keen on celebrating just yet—especially with a cautionary tale bubbling over at the other Final Four duel.
“These guys have done a tremendous job so far,” he said of his charges shortly after the 127-100 Game 3 triumph at Smart Araneta Coliseum last Sunday night. “But again, the series is not over.”
“As you can see, a series can turn on a dime—like what happened with [TNT]-Rain or Shine. A key guy goes down in Jayson Castro, then] Rain or Shine puts up a big fight and gets Game 3. Now, it’s a completely different series. So you know, we are cognizant of that, and we’re trying to make sure that doesn’t happen to us over here.”
Ginebra has methodically beaten NorthPort in their race, winning by an average of 20.6 points throughout the past three meetings. Malonzo has been steadily improving, nearing his old lethal self at a time when the Gin Kings have also reclaimed their other forward, Miah Gray, from sick bay.
Cautiously optimistic
Then there’s RJ Abarrientos maturing in each game, Troy Rosario feeling more and more at home, and Maverick Ahanmisi relishing his role as a spark plug off the bench.
But all of that has been only secondary to the Gin Kings’ ability to be on an even keel, according to the seasoned mentor.
“We’ve been talking a lot about discipline, a lot about processes. And those are kind of our keywords right now in terms of getting ourselves ready for each game,” Cone said.
“You know, this team has always been a good team about moving on. It can be hard to move on from wins because you kind of want to live in those wins. But you’ve also got to move on from them, and you do that through staying disciplined mentally and really just focusing on the process of what makes you successful, [and] not [by] looking at the end result,” he went on.
Ever cautiously optimistic, Cone said Ginebra’s simply making the most out of the momentum the Gin Kings are on.
“These things are all coalescing right now into this series. There’s a real good feel about ball movement and people movement—and we’re defending well. And so, like I said, it’s all coming together right now,” he said.
“We’ll just ride the wave as long as we can. Hopefully, right through the Finals and into the championship,” he added with a smirk.
“But there’s a lot of basketball left.”
