The defending champs picked up from where they left off.
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel coach Tim Cone was not so sure whether the long break heading into the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup finals would be good for the defending champs or not.
On Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Cone’s wards eased their coach’s concerns, taking control of Game 1 right in the first quarter and never giving it up on their way to a 102-90 victory and the early series lead against the TNT Tropang Giga.
“To be totally honest, I didn’t know if we had done a good job of preparing for this game for those 10 days. I was questioning myself,” Cone admitted in the post-game presser. “I was questioning whether we should take Good Friday off, and I was questioning whether we had taken too much time or if we weren’t working hard enough. It was a lot of questions going on throughout the 10 days, and I was not a hundred percent sure we were gonna play good tonight.”
It turns out, Cone’s worries were unfounded. Ginebra started off strong and put out a strong 48-minute effort, never letting the Tropang Giga build any momentum whatsoever—save for a brief run to open the third canto, where they came within two points of the defending champs, 54-52. Ginebra regrouped, though, and extended that lead back to double digits and never relinquished it again.
“Guys came out and they came out really fired up to start the game and set a good tone in the beginning of the game. I was kinda surprised to be honest with you . . . and then they were just able to just carry the fight all the way through,” Cone said. “I was worried about our game shape, whether we’d lose our game shape over 10 days. I was worried about our rotations. But it all came together well surprisingly and we were able to win.”
Indeed, things came together quite nicely for the defending champs in Game 1—as if they never took a break. They will look to carry over that momentum to Game 2 on Wednesday, also at the same venue, as they prepare for what will surely be a big-time fight back from the Tropang Giga.