Imagine Arwind Santos, but taller and stronger. That's Bennie Boatwright says Ginebra's coach Tim.
Brgy. Ginebra San Miguel coach Tim Cone will have his hands full for the rest of the night after falling short against the San Miguel Beermen, 92-90, in Game 1 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.
Cone is now left to figure out ways to hold down seven-time MVP June Mar Fajardo and import Bennie Boatwright, without letting the other guys heat up after CJ Perez dropped nine of his 26 points the fourth period to help the Beermen snatch the win at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum Wednesday.
“They have other guys who can step up and tonight it was CJ,” Cone said.
To stress how tough it was to face a team that has a bevy of weapons, Cone likened this Beermen team to the old "Death Five" who had the league teetering on its heels in the 2010s.
“They have a lot of different kinds of weapons. They have their own version of Death 5, except Boatwright is playing Arwind Santos’ role,” Cone said after Game 1 at the Big Dome.
But Boatwright is nearly five inches taller and looks stronger than the former MVP in Arwind, making the job tough for the Gin Kings.
“It was tough. It’s like Arwind and June Mar together in the Death Five, except Boatwright is five inches taller and 30 pounds heavier and shoots the ball as well as Arwind did. It just makes our job even harder,” he said.
Regardless, Cone couldn’t help but be proud of his wards, who kept in step with the Beermen the entire way for the series opener.
“I just like the way our guys stuck in the game despite not playing up to what we felt is up to par and gave ourselves a chance to win but we came up short,” he said.
Cone and the rest of the Gin Kings have a day to figure things out before Game 2 of the best-of-five series on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.