PBA: Cone hails Ginebra's veteran poise amid furious Meralco fightback

Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Barangay Ginebra responded well to a big Meralco run in the fourth quarter of Game 5 of the 2021 PBA Governors" Cup="" Finals.="" PBA="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/sports/04/18/pba-images14.jpg"/><figcaption>Barangay Ginebra responded well to a big Meralco run in the fourth quarter of Game 5 of the 2021 PBA Governors&#x27; Cup Finals. <em>PBA Images.</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA, Philippines -- Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone called himself &quot;really fortunate&quot; to have a veteran squad after the Gin Kings weathered a fourth-quarter storm from the Meralco Bolts on Sunday night.</p><p>Ginebra was cruising to a comfortable victory in Game 5 of the 2021 PBA Governors&#x27; Cup finals, with an Arvin Tolentino layup putting them up by 14 points, 96-82, with under eight minutes left.</p><p>But a flurry of baskets from Meralco import Tony Bishop got the Bolts back in the game. A layup by Aaron Black with under five minutes to play capped a 15-2 Meralco run that made it a one-point game, 98-97.</p><p>&quot;Bishop, he just willed them back into the game in that second half. Just willed them back in. We&#x27;re doing everything we could, and he was knocking down 3s, and getting out in transition,&quot; Cone told reporters afterward.</p><p>&quot;He was phenomenal in that second half, and that&#x27;s what the great imports do. They find a way to get you back into the game,&quot; he added.</p><p>But it would be the closest that Meralco would get. Off a timeout, the Gin Kings scored seven unanswered points, capped by a huge three-pointer from Scottie Thompson to restore an eight-point lead, 105-97, with just 2:18 to play.</p><p>Bishop and Black tried to bring Meralco closer, but the Gin Kings had a response every time they cut into the deficit. Ginebra emerged with a 115-110 victory and a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/17/22/hot-shooting-ginebra-takes-down-meralco-for-3-2-lead">GAME RECAP: Hot-shooting Ginebra takes down Meralco for 3-2 lead</a></li></ul><p>&quot;We talked about it during the timeout. Keeping our poise, and slowing it down a little bit,&quot; Cone said of their response to Meralco&#x27;s big run. &quot;We were able to get the ball to Justin [Brownlee] after the timeout, and he created a couple of shots for us.&quot;</p><p>&quot;And then, earlier, Scottie hit the big 3 that gave us the breathing room down the stretch,&quot; he added. &quot;But you know, I&#x27;m fortunate. I&#x27;ve got a team who understands things.&quot;</p><p>Even with the Bolts breathing down their necks, there was no panic for Ginebra, said Cone. For his players, this was a situation that they have already experienced before. </p><p>&quot;They&#x27;ve been through the wars, they&#x27;re veterans. Even though Scottie&#x27;s still young, but he&#x27;s been through so many of these things before. They really know how to settle down, and they can think the game through,&quot; he said.</p><p>This veteran poise came through in the sequence that led to Thompson&#x27;s dagger triple. LA Tenorio misfired on a three-pointer, but Thompson secured the offensive rebound over Meralco&#x27;s Bishop in a moment that drew a huge cheer from the mostly pro-Ginebra crowd inside the Araneta Coliseum.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/17/22/record-crowd-shows-up-for-game-5-of-pba-finals">READ: Record crowd shows up for Game 5 of PBA Finals</a></li></ul><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="tl">San galing yung Scottie?! Huli kang rebound ka! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PBAiTuloyAngLaban?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PBAiTuloyAngLaban</a> <a href="https://t.co/gEKzcAqmYL">pic.twitter.com/gEKzcAqmYL</a></p>— PBA (@pbaconnect) <a href="https://twitter.com/pbaconnect/status/1515670577297514500?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2022</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>Off the repossession, Jeff Chan also missed a three-point attempt. This time, it was Christian Standhardinger who secured another opportunity for Ginebra, and they made the most of it: Tenorio fired a pass to Thompson who pulled up for the biggest three-pointer of the game.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">BEST. PLAYER. OF. THE. CONFERENCE.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PBAFinals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PBAFinals</a> <a href="https://t.co/8z9VWS7pn9">pic.twitter.com/8z9VWS7pn9</a></p>— PBA (@pbaconnect) <a href="https://twitter.com/pbaconnect/status/1515670261034807304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2022</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>&quot;I&#x27;m just really fortunate that I have a veteran team that&#x27;s been doing this stuff for a while. They handled it extremely well,&quot; said Cone.</p><p>Still, Cone acknowledged that they dodged a bullet against a determined Meralco squad, who overcame a blistering shooting night from the Gin Kings to make it a nip-and-tuck game down the stretch.</p><p>&quot;It was one of those games that could have gone either way. One possession here or there, when it got down to [one point], it would have changed the whole complexion [of the game],&quot; he said. &quot;But again, guys made big shots, made big plays, made big shots.&quot;</p><p>&quot;We scored 115 points against a really, really good Meralco defense, you know. They&#x27;re the best defensive team in the league, and we scored 115 points. So that really tells you something about how well we shot the ball tonight,&quot; he added.</p><p>Ginebra can wrap up the series on Wednesday&#x27;s Game 6, still at the Araneta Coliseum.</p>

Ginebra coach Tim Cone called himself 'really fortunate' to have a veteran squad after the Gin Kings weathered a fourth quarter storm from the Meralco Bolts.

PBA: Cone hails Ginebra's veteran poise amid furious Meralco fightback | ABS-CBN

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PBA: Cone hails Ginebra's veteran poise amid furious Meralco fightback

PBA: Cone hails Ginebra's veteran poise amid furious Meralco fightback

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Apr 18, 2022 12:31 PM PHT

Read More:

basketball

PBA

PBA Governors' Cup

Meralco Bolts

Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings

Tim Cone

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