RANGED against an NLEX five that was forced to play all-Filipino, defending champion Ginebra got the job done and pleased coach Tim Cone no end last Sunday night.
“The thing I’m proud about with our guys was we didn’t leave anything to chance. We didn’t go down and let up. We stayed aggressive,” Cone said. “Justin (Brownlee) came out right from the beginning, and sent out a message to the team, and even to the other team (that) we’re going to take care of business tonight.
“Veteran teams understand that and get it done. Young teams often fall into that trap, and we didn’t fall into that trap. So, I was really pleased with that,” he added.
Cone spoke after the No. 3 Kings mauled the sixth-ranked Road Warriors 127-93 in their quarterfinals duel in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
NLEX reinforcement Wayne Selden Jr. sat out the tiff due to a foot injury and Ginebra pounced on his absence to the hilt.
Brownlee led six other Kings in double-digits with game-highs of 31 points and 13 rebounds, to go with six assists, while Jamie Malonzo chipped in 20 markers, six boards and five dimes.
Christian Standhardinger and Jeremiah Gray added 20 and 15 points, respectively, while Von Pessumal, reigning MVP Scottie Thompson, and Aljon Mariano combined for 32 for Ginebra, which was armed with a twice-to-beat advantage in the Last 8.
The Kings went into the battle bidding to atone for a 105-114 loss to TNT in their last eliminations outing four days ago.
The runaway rout enabled Ginebra to forge a best-of-5 semifinals showdown with San Miguel Beer.
Cone was convinced the outcome would have been different had Selden suited up for NLEX.
“It’s really, really bad luck. I didn’t know until right before I was leaving the locker room to go out that the import was injured and wasn’t gonna play. We had no idea. That’s such bad luck for NLEX,” he said.
“Obviously, the game would have been a lot, lot different with Selden here. He’s a stud. I commiserate with (NLEX coach) Frankie (Lim) because it’s really tough to lose your import going into the playoffs. That’s like the worst luck you could have.”
Sean Anthony paced the Road Warriors with 16 points and five caroms, while Kevin Alas had 15 markers, seven rebounds and two dimes.
Don Trollano, Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, Kris Rosales, and Anthony Semerad had 14, 14, 11, and 10 points, respectively, for NLEX.
