PBA: Coach Tim Cone pleased with how Ginebra responded after embarrassing 49-point loss to San Miguel

Brgy. Ginebra head coach Tim Cone did not have to say or do much to fire up his wards in the wake of the franchise's worst loss ever.

The Gin Kings already knew what needed to be done, and they did just that in a 112-96 bounce-back win over Phoenix in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup on Wednesday, September 18.

“I don’t think I have to fire them up very much,” said Cone after the match at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Ginebra was coming off a 49-point loss against San Miguel — the worst in franchise history and in Cone’s championship-littered career.

That loss also saw Ginebra fall on the wrong side of history as Marcio Lassiter became the new PBA three-point king after nailing six triples against the Gin Kings, four of them in the first quarter alone.

[RELATED STORY: HIS-THREE: By shooting his shot more than a thousand times, Marcio Lassiter finds himself in PBA lore forever]

“Because the game we came off against San Miguel, we’re all disappointed with that game," Cone said.

“Basically we’re ashamed of that game. So for us to come back, I think we’re really motivated to come back and play a better game tonight.”

That was why the 66-year-old mentor was pleased with how his charges responded to the tragic loss last time out.

The Gin Kings seized control early and sustained that for the rest of the match to secure a playoff berth in the Governors' Cup, now sporting a 6-3 win-loss record in Group B action.

“Those are just some of the experiences we’re trying to go through as a team. You go through some really tough times and that makes you a little tougher,” he said.  

“So I was really pleased with the bounce back tonight.”

But while Ginebra punched a ticket to the quarterfinals with a sixth win in nine games, Cone said there’s much that needs to be done to be playoff-ready.

“We gotta figure out how to beat San Miguel after they beat us by 49. That’s one of the things,” he said.