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PBA: Cone, Ginebra brace for SMB's 'greatest team of all time'

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/sports/07/23/20180723-ginebra.jpg"/><figcaption>Ginebra sealed a date with San Miguel in the best-of-7 Finals. Richard Esguerra, ABS-CBN Sports</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines – Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone laid out the challenge that awaits them in the Finals of the 2018 PBA Commissioner&#x27;s Cup in no uncertain terms.&quot;There is nothing more challenging in our league than playing San Miguel,&quot; Cone said Monday, after Ginebra wrapped up its semis series against Rain or Shine with a hard-earned 96-94 triumph in Game 4.&quot;This might be the greatest team of all time,&quot; he added. &quot;They very well could be the greatest team of all time.&quot;Considering that Cone has coached not one, but two Grand Slam teams, his words cannot be taken lightly. The San Miguel team that Ginebra is about to face in the Finals has won six championships in the last 10 conferences, including the last four All-Filipino titles.The Gin Kings have already lost to San Miguel in a championship series once before – in the 2017 Philippine Cup Finals, wherein they managed to win one game before the Beermen closed out the series in five. It was their third-straight All-Filipino crown.Since then, San Miguel has continued to rack up the championships. They dominated the All-Filipino Conference once more this season, and the Beermen have made no secret of their desire to win a Grand Slam this year.Cone, hence, is well aware that they have a tall task ahead of them, even as he also points out that they match up quite well against San Miguel – perhaps better than any other team in the league.&quot;We&#x27;re expecting a tough series, and like I said, I think of any team in the league, we have probably the best match-up to San Miguel, so we think we can give them a battle,&quot; he said.&quot;The challenge is out there for us,&quot; Cone also said. &quot;I think our guys are going to embrace it… We&#x27;ll do our best.&quot;Already, the multi-titled mentor is excited to see the player match-ups that will materialize in the Finals. He notes that both teams feature superb imports in Ginebra&#x27;s Justin Brownlee and SMB&#x27;s Renaldo Balkman, and the battle of the backcourts will also be one to look out for.Of course, the featured match-up is the battle of the giants between Greg Slaughter and June Mar Fajardo – the first time that two centers will play in a championship series since their collegiate days back in Cebu.&quot;We got Jeff Chan, and we&#x27;ve never played San Miguel with Jeff Chan, so we&#x27;ll see how that changes it,&quot; Cone also pointed out. &quot;We&#x27;ll see if we can get Japeth (Aguilar) healthy.&quot;&quot;And of course, the guy we always have to worry about is Arwind Santos. Arwind just kills us all the time, so we gotta commit to him,&quot; said Cone.Also of note is the battle of wits between coaches, with Cone once again set to face off against San Miguel&#x27;s Leo Austria – who has never lost a Finals series as the Beermen&#x27;s coach.&quot;I&#x27;ve lost a number of (Finals series),&quot; Cone said. &quot;I&#x27;ve lost a lot.&quot;&quot;So it&#x27;s going to be a challenge. He (Austria) always has that team running like a machine, and I try to emulate him a lot in what we do,&quot; he added.Game 1 of the series is on Friday at the Araneta Coliseum.For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com" target="_blank">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.

MANILA, Philippines – Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone laid out the challenge that awaits them in the Finals of the 2018 PBA Commissioner's Cup in no uncertain terms.

MANILA, Philippines – Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone laid out the challenge that awaits them in the Finals of the 2018 PBA Commissioner's Cup in no uncertain terms.

PBA: Cone, Ginebra brace for SMB's 'greatest team of all time'

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PBA: Cone, Ginebra brace for SMB's 'greatest team of all time'

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 24, 2018 12:09 AM PHT

Read More:

PBA

PBA Commissioner's Cup

San Miguel Beer

Barangay Ginebra

Tim Cone

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