BARANGAY Ginebra San Miguel eyes a commanding 3-1 lead over TNT Tropang 5G in Game 4 on Wednesday of the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven Finals series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
For coach Tim Cone, consistency-or better-is now the tone of the series.
‘We’re just tried to rehab and recover and took a rest as much as we can without getting soft,’ said Cone, who’s seeking his 26th PBA title as a coach and for Ginebra, its 26th crown. ‘There’s no way to take the perfect break before the next game. We need to comeback real strong in Game 4.’
The Gin Kings had a relatively easy 116-102 Game 3 win and are hoping to bring that momentum in Game 4 that starts at 7:30 p.m.
The challenge for the Gin Kings is to score back-to-back victories-they won Game 1, 102-100, but lost Game 2, 94-101, before getting the upperhand in Game 3.
‘I think we just have to boost our confidence and hoping we can ride on the momentum looking forward,’ said Ginebra’s resident import Justin Brownlee, who posted 41 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in Game 3.
Scottie Thompson was amazing with a triple-double of 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists-his 12th in his career-while Stephen Holt finally produced big numbers of 23 points, 15 he made in the first quarter that set the tone for the rout.
The PBA meanwhile will award the Best Player of the Conference and Best Import ahead of the jump off-Brownlee and teammate RJ Abarrientos lead the race for both awards.